And So Bind the Chains of Fate
by HMMaster
Summary: For as long as Naruto had been aware, district three of West Rukongai was all he knew. A chance encounter and events begin to unfold, putting him on a path to his destiny. Will he unlock the secrets of his former self, or will he suffer the endless boredom with no memory of the person he was? Will he protect the people he cares for, or will he allow the unjust to succeed?
1. 01: Rukongai Blues

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach, or any related characters or properties.**

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**_.:01:.  
Rukongai Blues_**

Sunlight streamed through the window of the small cabin, caressing the boy's face in its warm embrace. The air was swelteringly hot, almost oppressively so. He brushed the sweaty blonde bangs from his face, not quite sure why he did not want to get up at all.

Lately, he had been having a bout with laziness and overall boredom. He was so bored that he did not want to do something to counteract the laziness, like some kind of vicious cycle. He wondered for a long moment if he had become the laziest thing in existence.

"How troublesome," he muttered under his breath, a flashbulb memory going off in his head. He wanted so badly to remember what that meant, because he was certain it meant something. It had to.

But like the countless other times he had tried to remember something about his past life, he could not. Would not. He could not remember anything about where he grew up, where he was born. He could not remember his parents or his closest friends. He knew nothing about how he died or why, he just knew that he had died and come to Rukongai, to live for the rest of eternity.

That was where the boredom came in. Would he be like this forever, bored and unable to do anything exciting? He had lived in Hokutan, district three of West Rukongai, for as long as he could remember. For all he knew, he was not even sure that he had existed before he found himself here.

He sat up and took a deep breath, sighing as he exhaled. He pulled himself from the small cot and headed toward the cupboard. Yet again, he frowned when he realized that he would have to eat rice and a simple piece of bread.

As he prepared his meals, he let his mind wander to his to-do list for the day.

_One: go to work. Two: work. Three: leave from work. Four: eat. Five: sleep. Six: repeat._

Very rarely did the life he was living deviate from that schedule. No wonder he was constantly bored.

The number of marks on the cupboard door caught his attention, his miniature calendar of sorts. "Oh! Today is payday!" he realized aloud, smiling now. He could finally afford something other than pasty dry rice and stale bread. He figured that he would stock up on noodles from the shop to last him a few days of ramen, to celebrate having money before he returned to the endless doldrums of boredom.

He knew it probably would not be endless, when he stopped to consider it. Most souls, when they go to the Soul Society, do not age or go hungry or become sick. He was not sure what made him different, but he had to eat and he had aged only ever so slightly, slow enough that he knew it was not "normal" aging. At some point, somewhere, he knew he would die from old age or sickness or something, but then what happened? _What happens when a soul dies?_

He guessed that he was probably fourteen or fifteen by now, based on his height and body shape. He had a lean, compact body that had receded slightly due to his meager eating. He kept his hair trimmed and comfortably messy, but his eyes had changed since he first managed to look into his reflection. They were more dull, more _lifeless._ When he noticed that change, he realized that he was probably driving himself insane.

He ate his small helpings, leaving enough for probably two more meals before he would need to buy more bread and rice. He sat in the quiet, alone and relatively happy. It was too silent, other than the small sounds of nature outside his window and the sounds of his chewing.

He knew it was about time to leave, so he placed his bowl in the sink space. He walked to the other side of the room and threw on a gray tunic, before heading out the front door of the small cabin. He locked the door, although he was not quite sure why. Hardly anyone ever strayed far from town, and that was almost two miles away, at the base of the mountain. Not very many traveled through Hokutan as it was, but when they did, they stayed in town. He was not worried about thieves or bandits, but he could not stop himself from locking the door.

As he strode at a regular pace, he wished that he could move a heck of a lot faster down the mountain. He liked his seclusion fairly well, but sometimes, he wanted to just take up his boss on his offer to move into the inn itself. It would save him a lot of trouble, but at the same time cut him off from the nature that he liked so much. He enjoyed living alone, had always enjoyed it for as long as he could remember. And he was an outdoors type of person, so his situation gave him the best of both worlds.

But there were times when he was seriously tired of wandering down the mountain and climbing back up the mountain, despite his good stamina. It happened day in and day out, again and again.

Hokutan was a mountain town with several tall buildings arranged around a single, convoluted street, and another row or two of smaller buildings behind them. It was not very rich, but it was not exactly poor either. Crime was not common, but not rare either.

The people here were busy, always working or shopping or gossiping or dating. The town elder was an older woman named Kaori, and she was tough as nails. She often ruled with an iron-clad resolve and tried not to deviate from her decisions and her experience.

He crossed the main street and found the inn. They did not get a lot of visitors, but the boy felt like he had a good, steady job and that he was relatively good at it. It was not hard work and it did not give him that excited feeling that he so desperately sought from the afterlife, but it was something necessary. He had had to learn to put up with it.

The inn was relatively large and doubled as a bar of sorts, but the bar attracted a lot more attention than the actual rooms above. That was where he worked most, oddly enough for someone who appeared to be so young, but he had a feeling that he would be working on cleaning or rearranging today. He waved at some of the other workers, who smiled as he walked in.

"Ah! Naruto!" the man who owned the building said, crossing the lobby to bow as he entered. He slipped off his sandals at the door and stepped into the main lobby.

"Tadashi, how are you doing today? Sorry I'm late, I was having some trouble getting up today."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Running out of excuses? You need to break that habit of being a few minutes late, Naruto. It's not befitting of someone so young."

"Hey, I'm not young!" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I'll try better next time, okay?"

Tadashi looked at him suspiciously for a moment, before he smiled and clapped the boy on the back. "All right, I believe you. You were not too late anyway, so do not worry too much. Today, you're going to start going through the rooms on each floor above and cleaning each empty room from top to bottom."

He tried to put on a brave face, but cleaning was not his favorite way to spend his time. "Will do, Tadashi. Thank you!"

Tadashi nodded and left Naruto to get himself situated. He found the cleaning supplies in the supply closet and headed to the second floor, which was probably all he could get done in one day as is. He headed into the first unoccupied room and got to work.

It took almost two and a half hours to finish the first two rooms to Tadashi-level standards. He smiled as he realized there were only four more rooms on the second floor, and that one of them was occupied. So he was almost half-way done for today's share of the work. He headed downstairs for a quick bite to eat.

As he entered the bar area, he scouted out the patrons. It was a little bit busier than normal for this time of day, and a few of the regulars were there. But his eyes widened when he saw him.

Daichi Tsubasa, Kaori's "appointed" grandson. Daichi was a nasty piece of work, a truly annoying, spoiled brat who deserved to rot in prison for some of the things he had said to other people. He did not care what he had to do, he would get his way with any type of manipulation imaginable. There were rumors that he was one of the "bad seeds" in Hokutan that brought in crime and illegal activity. It was a strange, ironic twist of fate that he was the adopted grandson of the town elder.

Naruto could not stand him and had no idea why a guy like him could find himself in heaven instead of hell. Nonetheless, Daichi had made it to the Soul Society and was being a general nuisance to everyone.

Daichi was sitting at the bar with a few of his friends, and they were all laughing and cutting up. But Naruto was not focused on them. He was focused on the brunette girl, looking to be a few years older than Naruto, sitting strangely close to Daichi. She did not look very familiar and there was nothing that particularly stood out about her, other than her kind eyes and dark bangs that ringed her face. But the nervous, almost frightened look in her face scared Naruto.

"Hey, Daichi, who's the lady with you?"

The girl locked eyes with him, giving him a pleading look. Now he really did want to know what the hell was going on with Daichi and this girl.

"None of your business, hermit kid," Daichi said with a grimace, laughing and looking positively snide.

"Who are you calling a kid?" Naruto countered, anger showing across his face. "What are you doing with this girl anyway?"

"_Doing?_" asked Daichi, his friends laughing at his tone, the tone that was making Naruto sick to his stomach. The seedy guy touched the girl's shoulder, and she visibly tensed. "I don't suppose I've done anything yet, but I can't say that won't happen tonight." He and his friends chuckled at the comment, but Naruto could tell that this girl probably would not like his plans for later.

The blond looked at her and offered a hand. "C'mon, let's get you away from these guys." She gulped audibly and stared hesitantly at the hand, but Daichi was not going to let this go.

"No, I don't think she will be going with you. She's going to come back with us and give us a good time." The girl looked positively terrified at the statement.

"She's not going anywhere with you, Daichi. Who do you think you are?" Naruto was positively livid, his body temperature getting higher and higher. He clenched his fist with rage. These thugs were not about to harm this girl.

"Much better than you!" Daichi exclaimed back.

Naruto did not know what came over him, but he immediately lunged at the older kid, surprising even Daichi. Naruto grabbed the thug's shoulders with both arms and yanked him toward the ground. Daichi landed on his back with an impressively loud thud. In that brief moment, Naruto's eyes bugged out at the newly-created crack in the floor, just from his throw.

But he did not have time to question it, because the thug retaliated quickly, giving him a quick underhanded jab to the stomach. Naruto's body convulsed as he lost his breath, his mind trying to comprehend what was happening. He did not let that punch stop him, because he shoved forward with all of his weight and tackled Daichi to the floor again.

They rolled around quite a few times, slinging fists and shoving back again and again, all within the span of a few seconds. The entire bar was probably watching by that point, and both Daichi and Naruto were trading blows back and forth, seemingly evenly matched. Daichi's friends did not intervene, thankfully for Naruto, but the side of him that liked to fight wanted them all to try.

Naruto flipped on top of Daichi one last time and pinned the boy's shoulders with his knees. Immediately, he began to pummel the hell out of Daichi's face. Naruto wanted each punch to leave a fist-shaped bruise. The _thud_ of the thug's head pounding against the floor was music to the blonde's ears.

"Naruto, what are you doing?!" Tadashi shouted, immediately reaching to pull Naruto off of Daichi's body. Naruto nearly pushed his boss away, before he realized that he would have been shoving his boss. Tadashi yanked Naruto away from his opponent, who struggled to get up as his friends ran to help him.

Naruto gave Daichi a threatening look. The annoying brat wiped blood from his jaw and shouted, "You better watch out, hermit kid! I'll get you back!" And with that, the kid and his friends dashed out of the inn, leaving the girl behind. Everyone else in the bar just slowly went back to their business, save for a few strange looks to the blonde employee.

Tadashi had the demanding look in his eyes. "What the hell was that?"

Naruto gulped, knowing that it was going to be extremely hard to explain. "Daichi and his friends were going to hurt her, Tadashi. I couldn't let that happen!"

The manager of the inn did not seem convinced, but he motioned for Naruto and the girl to join him in the stockroom, away from prying ears. "My name is Tadashi, and this is Naruto. What's your name?" he asked, as he turned to the girl in question.

The brunette hesitated for a moment, still very frightened by what could have happened to her. "It's Momo Hinamori, sir."

"What happened to you, Momo? How did you even get with that slug of a bastard?" asked Naruto, still angry by the possibilities.

The girl swallowed, before gesturing to the west with her hand. "I'm from Junrinan. Daichi and a few of his friends ran into me there, in the main town. I was jumped late last night, and no matter how much I struggled, there was nothing that I could do to escape them." Her voice quivered with emotion. "With so many of them, I was too scared to try to run away, and even if I could, they would have caught me."

"They basically kidnapped you?" Tadashi asked, his brow furrowing.

"I'm going to kill him," Naruto said through clenched teeth.

"You'll do no such thing," Tadashi said. "Think about his grandmother, Naruto. You'll be in deep already, but if you were to do something else in this situation, I don't want to know the hell that Kaori could unleash against you." He paused to let Naruto think for a moment and then looked at Momo. "I'll bet you're wanting to get back home, huh?"

Momo nodded longingly, homesick and ready to put this whole nightmare away. "Yes, I definitely do."

"Well, if you would, could I offer you a meal or a bed to stay tonight? I know you must have people back in district one who miss you, but considering the circumstances, I think it might be better for you to wait and leave in the morning."

"Yeah, he's right," Naruto agreed. "If you were to leave now, you might run into those assholes again."

The girl thought for a long moment. "Well, Lil'Shiro is probably worried sick, but I _am_ a bit hungry," Momo said sheepishly, and Naruto just laughed. The blonde dragged the girl over to the kitchen area of the bar and offered to cook her several kinds of ramen, each flavor he claimed to be his favorite.

Tadashi watched him interact with Momo and chuckled, wondering how long it had been since Naruto had spoken to a girl near his age. The old inn owner turned away from the two of them, heading back into the main bar area to hopefully do some damage control from the fight earlier.

When the ramen was finished, he and Momo sat down to eat. "You might be one of the first people I've met who eats because they are hungry," Naruto commented, slurping up a bite of noodles. "A lot of people eat because it's sociable, but you seem to just be really hungry."

She nodded. "Yeah. It's because I have a bit of reiryoku. Not much, but enough that I have to eat to survive. You should see Lil'Shiro, because he eats like a pig!"

"Reiryoku?" asked Naruto, confused. He'd heard the term before, but no one had clarified what it meant before. "What's that?"

"You don't know what spirit energy is, Naruto? How long have you been dead?"

He thought about it. How long had it been, exactly, since he died?

"You know, I... I don't even know," he explained, suddenly realizing that he had absolutely no clue. "But no, I really do not know what that is."

Momo swallowed another bite and took a sip of her milk. "Well, usually souls who come to Soul Society do not have much spirit energy. When they have a substantial amount, they age and have to eat and fight to survive, while a majority of souls are just content. If you have to eat, you probably have some reiryoku of your own." She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "As for what reiryoku actually is, you'd probably have to ask a shinigami. I've never really understood it myself."

He pondered her statement for a while. He had seen the black-clad, sword-carrying guards patrolling the streets of Hokutan on several occasions, but he'd never really ever spoken to one. Maybe he should speak to one now?

Something else she had said caught his attention. "Who's Lil'Shiro? That's a strange name."

The girl giggled. "Lil'Shiro is just a nickname I gave him. Toshiro's a little kid back in Junrinan, probably looks to be ten or eleven. We've been really good friends for years."

Naruto smiled. "I guess you want to get back to him so he won't worry too much, huh?"

She laughed. "Funny thing is that he's not the type of guy who would admit that. He'll probably say, 'I wasn't worried about you at all, Momo. I know you can take care of yourself.'" She looked up from her bowl of ramen, meeting Naruto's glance. "Thank you for what you did. I... don't know what I would do if... if you hadn't saved me." Momo looked like she might cry, but Naruto clapped her on the shoulder.

"It was no big deal. No harm done in the long run, right? The best part is that you're completely safe," the blue-eyed blonde said with a beaming grin. He finished off the bowl of ramen with a loud slurping, and it was enough to make both of them laugh. Hinamori still had half of her bowl left, but Naruto was done already.

"Maybe you'll be giving Lil'Shiro's appetite a run for its money!" Momo said with a small laugh.

As soon as Momo was finished, Naruto headed upstairs to show her to a room where she'd stay the night, before she would leave in the morning to go back to district one. It was only a few hours walk at a good solid pace, but even then, Naruto hated how slow he had to go when he went on delivery or pick-up runs for Tadashi. He may have enjoyed the scenery as he walked through the outdoors, but he wished that there was a quicker way.

When he closed the door for Momo to make herself comfortable, he nearly ran right into Tadashi. "Oh, hey, Tadashi. I just showed Momo her room for the night. Everything calmed down now?"

Naruto noticed how... gaunt that his boss looked right then, but he was not sure why. "Yeah. Everything has calmed down. I was talking with some people outside shortly after the fight, and they... well, let me just give you the message now. You'll need to head to Kaori's later tonight. Probably nine or ten tonight, due to other things going on. Kaori wishes to speak to you about what happened."

The boy's reassuring grin slowly faded when he realized what that could mean. "What do you think she'll say?"

"I don't know, Naruto. But if I were in her situation, I don't think I would be very lenient. After all, you provoking a fight in the middle of the bar was not exactly ideal employee behavior. To be honest, you're lucky I didn't fire you on the spot."

His eyes widened. Tadashi had never made comments like this, never anything this bad. Usually it was all in good fun, but now Naruto really had pissed him off. "But Momo was going to be ra-"

"I know," Tadashi said, cutting the boy off. "I know what was going to happen. I'm extremely glad that it did not happen. But that could have been handled in a better way that did not include getting into a fight in the middle of the bar. Got it? Good."

Naruto nodded nervously. "Yes, sir. I understand." He frowned and headed back to where he left the cleaning supplies, hoping to get the job done that he had intended to finish, all before the trouble with Daichi.

He was about an hour into cleaning one of the largest suites in the inn when there was a knock on the door. Had Tadashi booked this room since he started to clean?

"Coming," he shouted as he sat down the mop and headed to the door. He opened it and was surprised to see Momo. "Hey, how's the room?"

She smiled. "It's fine, thank you. Would you like some help? I could help you finish."

Naruto was going to decline, but the expression on her face made him want to reconsider. "Okay. I don't see why not. I helped you earlier, so I suppose this is you paying me back. You don't have to, though, if you don't want to."

She shook her head. "No, I do want to! I don't have much better to do, and I really do want to help out."

He smiled. "In that case, come on. I cannot stand cleaning, so with you here, maybe it won't be so boring and annoying."

"Happy to oblige," she said with a chuckle, heading into the room to help him.

Naruto was correct. Cleaning was much better with Momo around, as it gave him something to focus on besides the fact that he was cleaning. He was not too sure what Tadashi would think about allowing her to take over some of the work, but he would explain that to his boss later, if the man asked. He just wanted to enjoy this girl's presence, as she was very pleasant to work with. Maybe if he talked to Tadashi, he might could get her a job here in the inn, even though it's in Hokutan.

They shared stories of their adventures in the afterlife. Hinamori telling Naruto all about Jidanbou, the giant who guards the Western Gate into the Seireitei. Naruto shared many stories about some good-natured pranks he pulled on some of the patrons in the bar, like the time he spiked someone's tea with sake just to see what would happen. Both seemed to really enjoy each other's company.

"How would you feel about working here long time?" asked Naruto, curious and a bit hopeful. "I know it's not home, and Toshiro and his grandmother may not like it. But I thought I might offer, you know?"

She frowned as she considered it. Naruto immediately started to berate himself for even suggesting it, because it seemed selfish and misguided.

"Well, the truth is, Naruto, I would miss home far too much to think about staying here. It's not that I wouldn't miss you when I return, because you seem like a kind, funny person. I just don't think I could stay."

He put up a smile to hide his slight disappointment. He knew it was probably a rotten idea, because they barely knew each other anyway. But after protecting her, something seemed to awaken in Naruto, a resolve to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Spirit power or not, Momo did not strike him as someone who could take care of herself if something were to happen.

"It's okay," he said, grinning. "No big deal. I guess I just...," he stopped for a moment, breathing in and out, "I haven't exactly had many friends in my time here, since I live alone up on the mountain. That's how I like it most of the time, but I guess I get lonely some of the time. There aren't many others around my age, and I guess it's hard to get close to people who are younger or older."

Momo nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "Lil'Shiro looks like he's five or six years younger than I do, but we practically grew up together because we were neighbors. He and his grandmother are some of the only people that I'm close to. I can relate to that feeling." With that, they moved on to more pleasant topics, making each other laugh with more storytelling.

"Well you seem to have a lot of stories about Rukongai, but do you have any stories about your past life, Momo?" the boy asked, curious if she remembered anything about where she came from.

Momo shook her head. "No, I... I really don't. Lil'Shiro doesn't either, but his grandmother does. Do you, Naruto?"

The boy shook his head regretfully. "No, I wish I did though. I wish I remembered where I was from and what happened to me when I died." The girl nodded, wishing for the same thing.

"Why do you think we don't remember?" he asked. "Me, you, and Toshiro? Is it because we have reiryoku?"

Hinamori shrugged. "I don't know, but that's the best guess I've come up with. Seems like a pretty great disadvantage, if you ask me."

Naruto and Momo kept up the cleaning for the next few hours, until around eight o'clock that night. They left to eat and enjoyed a meal together while Tadashi watched, before it was time for Naruto to go and meet with the town elder, Kaori.

Momo had kept quiet all during dinner, and there was obviously something on her mind. "Naruto, I'm sorry that you're in this mess because of me." She was sullen and depressed, her head down and seemingly unable to rise.

He smiled sympathetically and said, "No way, Momo. It's not your fault, believe it! It's Daichi's fault, him and his loser lackeys."

She seemed to perk up, but she was still sad. Tadashi put his hand on her shoulder. "Naruto and Daichi have never gotten along before this, and it's been a long time coming. Daichi should never have attempted what he was going to do. Naruto should have attempted to save you without fighting, like finding one of the shinigami on patrol and reporting it. But do not think for a minute that you had any part in the blame."

Hinamori smiled sadly, thinking over his words. "Thank you, sir."

"You're absolutely welcome," Tadashi said. "Naruto, you'd better hurry to the compound. If you don't get there soon, whatever punishment you get could be more severe."

Naruto nodded, standing up from the table. He adjusted his tunic and tied his obi, before bowing slightly to both of them. "See you when I get back."

Tadashi and Momo bowed back to him. "Remember my advice from earlier, Naruto!"

The blonde waved back his acknowledgement as he left the room, leaving Tadashi and Momo alone. The owner of the inn stood and walked out of the room into the main bar, beckoning Momo to follow. "Tell me what you make of this, Miss Hinamori."

She nodded and followed him. He pointed out the obvious crack in the wooden floor, about three inches wide and five feet long. She remembered that that was where Naruto had shoved Daichi, and her eyes widened. She explained that detail to Tadashi, who could only ponder for a moment.

"So Naruto did that with just brute strength?" asked the boss, cursing under his breath as he thought about how expensive it might be to fix or replace. "Broke the solid wood like it was nothing?"

Momo was just as amazed as he was. It was interesting to her that Naruto had so much spiritual power locked inside that he could literally do that much damage, because it had nothing to do with muscle mass. Naruto was by no means scrawny, but he was not built like a brick wall.

"Has he ever showed anything like this before?" asked Momo, entertaining the possibility that it could have been a coincidence.

Tadashi looked away in thought before raising a finger to make a point. "Well, a few years back, I dismissed it. But Naruto may have been the one to snap the entire bar counter in half, because I remember him being angry at something that day." He showed her the wooden counter replacement. "I was able to replace it with an identical one for pretty cheap, but if Naruto has been breaking these things so easily, what does that mean, Miss Hinamori?"

She explained what she knew about reiatsu and reiryoku, thinking that if Naruto had never heard of it, Tadashi probably had not either. If she did not live so close to the Seireitei, she probably would not know that much about it either.

"So Naruto has some powers of his own?" asked Tadashi.

"Yeah, I think so," she explained.

"That could be very dangerous," he muttered, not sure what he thought about this development. Naruto was not the type to let something like this go over his head, but... but he had a temper problem. "With Naruto's tendency to get overexcited, couldn't these powers be a bad thing?"

"I'm not sure if they'd be bad, but I guess they could be," she said. "Back in district one, I've heard that souls with some reiryoku go on to become shinigami, through the Shin'o Academy."

Tadashi pondered that for a moment. "You have to eat as well, don't you, Miss Hinamori? Have you ever experienced any kind of special abilities like Naruto?"

"Not me, no," Momo replied. "But one of my friends from back home, he has this really cold presence. I don't think he notices, and I've never brought it up. But he sometimes makes the room colder without even trying. Is that weird?"

"Weird?" Tadashi asked. "Kind of. Hard to comprehend all this shinigami, spiritual power business."

Momo laughed. "I agree with you there."

"Have you ever considered becoming a shinigami yourself? Or your friend Toshiro?"

Hinamori had to admit that the idea sounded great, but she did not think she could ever be good at it. "Um, no. I don't think that would be... the right fit for me. And Toshiro is blissfully unaware that he even has abilities, if that's even what they are. He's just a kid who doesn't like responsibility too much, whether he denies it or not."

Tadashi just smiled in confirmation. "Well, if that's what you think, that's fine, but don't doubt yourself either. You could turn out to be very capable if you decided to do it." He picked up a clipboard and began running through an inventory list. "Would you like to help me out a little while we wait for Naruto to come back? I've got some things to before we close in a couple of hours, and I need to give him his pay."

Momo just nodded, her mind filled with images of strong battles and swords and tough training. "Sure. I'd love to."

* * *

The town elder compound, for as long as Naruto had ever known, had been inhabited by members of Kaori's family. Daichi had died and had been assigned into Kaori's household by sheer luck, but most of the people who live there were direct blood relatives of Kaori herself.

The building was the grandest building in all of Hokutan, located in the direct middle of the town and surrounded completely by a twelve-foot-high wall. It really did scream of wealth, the most expensive building that Naruto had ever seen.

The place had patrol guards, regular souls armed with various weapons like katana or bows or spears. They were all dressed in heavy, almost samurai-like armor, each more ornate than the last. Trees lined the inside of the courtyard, Naruto noticed as soon as the guards let him in. One of them escorted Naruto through the yard and up to the flight of stairs leading to the gate.

"This is Naruto, the boy Kaori needed to see," the escort muttered to the main guard, a stumpy man who looked to be a little too old to be standing guard at a complex like this.

The man simply nodded, probably having heard all about the fight that had taken place. Naruto had been nervous before, but he had never been more nervous than this exact moment, right before the door opened to the main building. As it anciently creaked open, he had to fight the urge not to cringe.

He was ushered inside, just as before. They rounded three hallways before the entrance to Kaori's office appeared. Everything in this place screamed of money, and Naruto could not help but marvel at how Hokutan could ever have this much revenue. He knew that the districts closest to the Seireitei were generally richer, but this was obscene. The luxuries of being in charge, he figured.

The escort did not say a word as he opened the door to the office, introduced Naruto to the village elder, and then left before Naruto even had time to say, "What?"

Kaori was a short, lumpy old woman with a bit of a stomach, but her expensive red and white robes made up for it. She had a sour look on her face, a sure sign that he was in deep trouble.

"Naruto," Kaori began, gesturing for him to sit across the desk from her. "So I've heard an interesting and appalling story about you from my grandson, Daichi."

Remembering Tadashi's warning, he remained silent before he said something that could make him worse off in the end.

Kaori looked him in the eye before clearing her throat. "He claims that you came up to him in Tadashi's Inn, interrupted his good time, and shoved him to the ground. You then proceeded to beat him until Tadashi could pull you off of my poor grandson. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" The woman spat the last question, disgusted at the implications.

He had to fight not to comment, not to directly argue with everything she was saying. "Is that all he said? Did he explain to you why I did this?"

Kaori did not budge, and Naruto started to realize that he may not win this argument. "No, I'm afraid that was all he said. Is there something more?"

Naruto started to rehash his side of the story for the second time that day, including Momo's end of the story as well. Strangely enough, Kaori began to smile half-way through the story, which unnerved him completely.

"What's so funny? I'm telling you the truth!"

The old woman grew upset that Naruto had the audacity to yell at her, and Tadashi's words to be respectful echoed in his mind.

"Quite frankly, Naruto, I simply do not believe your far-fetched tales. I've heard enough of your pranks from many concerned citizens to know that I cannot take what you say with a grain of salt. It's fairly obvious that you are using these falsities to malign the character of the village elder's grandson. Did you think this would be funny, Naruto? Did you think this would bring you enjoyment, trying to make Daichi out to be some kind of common criminal? If that's the case, you're even more broken that I originally imagined."

Naruto was speechless, the office completely silent. Kaori stood from her chair and looked out of the window, watching the crescent moon up above.

"This is just not true! Those pranks were just jokes that never harmed anyone, and Daichi and his friends were going to hurt poor Momo! I could not stand idly by and let her get raped!" Naruto was getting so angry that he gripped the chestnut-colored desk, his knuckles turning white.

Kaori did not turn his gaze. "There's a flaw in your lie, Naruto, a flaw that ensures that I cannot believe a bit of what you are saying." She turned to look at him, placing both of her palms flat on the desk and trying to look intimidating. "Daichi did not leave the compound last night. He was here all night, resting after a long day of chores. I had a few of my guards check up on him.

"What terrifies me more than anything, Naruto, is that you do not live in town. You live all alone, up on the mountain, away from social interaction," she explained. "And what makes matters worse is that boss of yours, Tadashi. He hardly leaves that inn to keep it barely running. It does not offer as much money as he claims, and he's often in debt. I worry that you have no positive relationships in this town, and it has probably affected your mental state."

"My mental state?"

Kaori nodded in confirmation. "Yes. You seem to not know where your lies begin and where the truths end." She walked around the desk and placed her hand on the back of his chair, kneeling down to meet him face to face. "Naruto, did you kidnap a girl from district one last night, hoping to blame it on Daichi?"

"What? No! Not at all!"

Kaori continued as though nothing had ever been said. "I had to admit I was a bit shocked when you mentioned this as part of your story, because Daichi made no mention of it. How noble of him to want to protect you. He was the one who questioned you about this girl, wasn't he? He caught on to your plans, and you fought him to silence him, didn't you? He must have been so scared of your revenge that he did not mention the real reason to me, in hopes that you would go easy on him."

The blonde was just shocked. "Lady Kaori, you are _way_ off-base here! Have you lost touch with reality? Daichi was caught sneaking in illicit drugs earlier this year, but did you punish him? No."

"Lies!" Kaori slammed the arm rest on Naruto's chair, shocking him enough that he reflexively gripped the desk harder. He looked down at his fingers, but he couldn't find them. It looked as though his fingers had submerged into the wood of the desk, so he hurriedly pulled them out in shock, hoping Kaori was distracted enough not to notice. Sure enough, there were five finger-sized indents in the wood, like he had stuck his fingers into a vat of butter.

"Gather what belongings you have in town and just leave. You're banished from Hokutan. Exiled. Whichever term you prefer. Don't ever expect to be able to come back again, and don't think you'll have a home up on the mountain left to come back to."

"Banished? Seriously?" he asked incredulously. "There's no punishment for Daichi at all?"

"He was being brave, something that _you_ could use a bit more nowadays. I expect you to be gone from district three by first light tomorrow."

* * *

Naruto was livid, but he had to try to keep his cool. He was not going to be able to return to Tadashi or see the mountain ever again. He headed into the inn one last time and was thankful that it was not closed yet. His shifts usually did not go into nighttime, but now was a different story.

The place was nearly empty, and it made him wonder about the validity of Kaori's statement that Tadashi was always in debt. They seemed busy enough most of the time, but were they really?

He headed behind the counter and into the backroom, hoping to find Tadashi and Momo, and maybe even some supplies to bring along. And food. He had no clue where he was going to go, but he would not be able to return here. That was the only certainty that he had.

"Naruto? You're back!" Momo said, smiling and scanning his face for any idea of what happened. She seemed to slow down when she noticed his not-so-happy face. "What happened?"

He frowned even more, all efforts to pack lost. He sat down at the table, head in his hands and running through his hair. "That bitch banished me. Made me an exile, like some kind of common criminal."

"What?" asked Momo, her face quivering in surprise. "I don't understand. What did she say?"

He turned to her for a moment, studying her face. Then he explained the whole story, with as much detail as possible. He grew angrier and angrier with every single sentence.

Momo was in outrage, and she grabbed Naruto's hand to yank him up and onto his feet. "Come on, Naruto, let's go prove her wrong! I'm your evidence, my story will match up to yours! They'll have to believe you."

The blonde shook his head. "No, she won't change her mind. All the important people in this town have their heads so far up Daichi's asses that they would never believe me. She made me out to be the psycho loner rapist, Momo, and no matter how much I beg and plead, it won't change her opinion of me. Her sentencing has always been final."

Momo huffed, crossing her arms in anger. "I won't give up, Naruto, and you should not give up either. Come with me."

He reluctantly followed her into the hallway, toward Tadashi's office. Tadashi was surprised to see them both, and after explaining the whole story, Momo asked, "Surely there's something we can do."

Tadashi wiped the tear from the corner of his eye, surprising Naruto. He was not exactly an emotional man, so to see that side of him was strange. "Oh, Naruto... I'm afraid, Miss Hinamori, that there's nothing that we can do. Kaori really is a stubborn-old-bat." He walked over to Naruto and wrapped the blonde in a one-armed hug. "Let's get you something packed, kiddo."

Naruto solemnly followed him, leaving Momo there with a complete lack of understanding. She began to cry as she walked behind them, trying to keep a brave face but feeling like this was all her fault.

"Momo, there's nothing to feel sorry about," Naruto said. "What's done is done."

He really did believe that philosophy, that you couldn't change the past. He believed that you could change your future, if you just persisted long enough to see a change. It was one of the many factors of why he never gave up.

Was he giving up though? Was Momo right? Had he accepted his fate as being banished? Was he angry about this, angry enough to try to change it?

The boy sighed.

"I just don't get it, Naruto," Hinamori began. "How can you not blame me? I was the one who got you into this mess in the first place. Daichi... Daichi and his friends. I should have had the power to fight them off. What the heck kind of use is it to have spiritual power if you can't use it to defend yourself?"

Naruto looked at her curiously. "It's not like you've been trained on how to use it though, Momo, if that's even how it works. Stop worrying about it! I'll be fine!"

"No, you won't," she argued, wiping at her eyes. "Where will you go? What will you do?" Before Naruto could even answer, Momo suddenly brightened up. "I know! You could come and live with Toshiro and me, in Junrinan! Oh, it would be great! I could introduce you to Jidanbou, I think you'd get a kick out of him! You'd really like Lil'Shiro's grandmother, and there's a great ram-!"

Naruto shook his head, although he gave it a lot of thought. "No, that's just what Hokutan would expect. They know you came from there, and they may stir up trouble trying to find me there. It's too obvious."

Tadashi, who had kept relatively quiet as he sorted through some light food to pack for both Naruto and Hinamori, finally turned to face them. "Maybe not, Naruto. If they expected you to expect them to find you there, then you could hide there after all. And besides, I don't think they'll be out for blood or something, Naruto. Kaori is not likely to waste the manpower on it, and the shinigami have better things to do than that." He paused, putting a bag of rice into both bags. "You could easily go with Momo, Naruto. All it takes is the first step, and it sure would take some of the worrying off of me, if I knew Miss Hinamori was there to take care of you. And you would be close enough that I could visit, as long as things calmed down on this side."

"Of course I would take care of you!" she said, not exactly sure why that statement made her blush. Naruto did not seem to take notice of it though. "And he's right, Naruto! They aren't that far away, so your former boss could visit you!"

The blue-eyed soul thought for a long moment, curious if this could work. It definitely was better than not having a plan at all, but drifters moved in and out of districts all the time. He wouldn't attract much attention if he went by himself, and he knew how to live off the land for the most part. But Momo and he had been good to each other, and she seemed genuinely excited at the possibility.

He took a deep breath in and out, letting it calm him down. He batted away the stray thought of why souls even needed to breathe, before finally agreeing. "Fine, I'll do it. Where would I stay while I'm there?"

Momo thought for a moment before saying, "With Toshiro's grandmother, of course. You and Lil'Shiro are not that different in age, so you'd get along, I think. And I live really close by, so it'll work out just fine."

"You sure she wouldn't mind?"

Momo shook her head, her brunette bangs swaying as she did. "No, she loves guests, and you have a great personality. She wouldn't mind at all."

"Then it's settled then!" Tadashi said, trying to be chipper but his expression said otherwise. Naruto could tell when he was upset.

They spent the next half hour going through some other supplies for two packs, just in case they needed them between Hokutan and Junrinan. When Tadashi handed them both the bags, they thanked him together.

"All right, so you guys are going to stay here tonight and then head out in the morning, just before dawn, right?" asked Tadashi for the umpteenth time.

They both nodded. "Yes, sir," Naruto said, smiling.

The boss smiled back and hugged both of them quickly, before handing Naruto the last thing on his mind. A bag of coins, the "paycheck."

"No, I won't need it, Tadashi. What if the money doesn't work?"

The older man scoffed. "Naruto, it's only a few hours away. And Kan are acceptable everywhere."

"If you say so," the blonde muttered, taking the bag and putting it in his back pocket.

"I'm off to bed. I'm planning on sleeping in tomorrow, so don't wake me as you head out." He winked, before adding, "I'm not sure if this will work out for you one hundred percent, Naruto, but please be careful. Both of you."

They both nodded and then did a small bow to him. He bowed back, and with that, the goodbye was over. Tadashi left them in the backroom in order to close the bar. Naruto wanted to really thank him properly, to say a good long goodbye. But he reminded himself that Tadashi might could visit him someday.

* * *

Naruto awoke to the sound of the alarm going off next to him, about an hour before dawn. He stretched and sighed, opening his eyes wider before getting up. He walked into the bathroom, hoping to get his face washed, do something with his hair.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, his body looking haggard and tired. Dark circles stretched under his eyes, and his face looked dry and flaky. He reached up with water and splashed his strange, whisker-like cheek marks before taking in another deep breath. He looked at his bare torso and abdomen, wondering why it felt so... empty when he looked at his belly button. Like something was missing, almost.

He washed his hair quickly, throwing on his clothes from yesterday. He wished that he could go back to his place and pack a bit of clothes, or at least change, but this would have to do.

He hurried downstairs, meeting Momo in the kitchen area of the bar. She was already dressed and looked a lot better than he did this morning, but that was not saying much. They ate a quick bite to eat, mostly talking over their plans and more about Ame, Toshiro's grandmother.

"I guess we'd better go," Momo said, standing and grabbing her pack off of the floor. "I wish I could thank Tadashi properly, but I'm sure I'll get to do so eventually."

Naruto nodded. "Of course. Let's get moving."

The two of them left the inn, Naruto locking the door behind him and placing his key on the mat. He did so without much hesitation, but he still felt oddly sad about that.

He walked on with Momo in the relative dark, gray-light just before dawn. He did not run from the only place he had ever really known. He walked out comfortably, Momo at his side. He passed the last building on the left, turned and looked at the convoluted street, almost barren and devoid of people.

"You okay?" asked the girl at his side.

He nodded. "Yeah. I think I'll be okay. Oddly enough, this is kind of... exciting. Refreshing. Like a new start. Maybe it won't get boring so fast this time around."

Hinamori laughed. "Let's hope not."

Naruto and Momo walked past the limits of the district, heading east. He imagined that if he climbed high enough, he would be able to see the walls of Seireitei on the horizon.

* * *

**Hopefully, that worked well. I know this is a popular crossover idea, but I wanted to take my spin on it. There will be a few more Naruto characters introduced, but not so many it's cramped and overloaded. I hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave me a review to tell me what you think! **

**Also, any OCs will pretty much vanish at this point. It's all canon from now on. I know it started a bit slow, but it will catch up in due time. **


	2. 02: Unstable Determination

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto, or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

**.:02:.  
Unstable Determination**

"Come on, Toshiro, give it back!"

"And tell me, idiot, why I should?"

"Because it's mine!"

"Who said?"

"Ame made it for me as a gift!"

"And I'm supposed to care _because..."_

"Shut up, Toshiro! It wouldn't even look good with your stupid hair!"

"Oh, look at _Naruto,_ the fashion _expert!"_

Naruto huffed, wanting to just punch the daylights out of the little brat for taking the bandanna that Ame had worked so hard to make. He stopped for a moment, trying to give Toshiro a false sense of security, before lunging at the kid again.

Toshiro laughed, pushing himself to his feet and leaping into the air, just in time so that Naruto smacked into the ground, a cloud of dust billowing from his body. The brat chuckled again, before running toward the town at full speed, hoping that Naruto would follow.

The blonde boy spat and brushed himself off, before dashing in the direction Toshiro had went. He heard Ame weakly call out for them to be careful, but Naruto was past that point. He'd do just about anything to get that damn bandanna back.

He spotted Toshiro, just as the silver-haired boy clumsily knocked into a merchant, causing a domino effect that left a lot of people covered in fruit and trinkets. Naruto sped up and leaped over the mess, inciting an angry yell from the merchant and the crowd.

_Don't scream at me! Toshiro's the one who did it,_ Naruto thought, a angry gleam in his eye. _I'll get that kid if it's the last thing I do._

He sped off again, passing through one of the side streets and momentarily passing Momo as he did. The girl whipped her head around, calling out to him, but he ignored her. Maybe she'd follow him, help him catch that brat.

Naruto stopped long enough to catch his breath, looking up at the edge of town and the beginning of the woods surrounding it. Somewhere past that was district two and district three, and he got an unnecessary moment of nostalgia. He pushed that down, hurrying into the woods after the silver-haired demon that plagued his existence.

He pushed past the trees, touching one of the branches as he passed with his fingers. He didn't notice, but the branch seemed to bend at his touch.

He broke through a clearing, seeing a flash of silver ahead. It was enough of a distraction that he didn't notice the very steep bank decline into the lake below, and his entire body lost touch with the ground. He tumbled down the side of the bank painfully, causing him to cry out in pain. Before he knew it, he was lying face-down in the water, his thoughts filled with revenge.

He stood from the shallow depths, clothes covered in mud and leaves and water. His rage and embarrassment had reached a new high.

"It's a good thing I took this from you," muttered a cool voice. "Because if I hadn't, you'd have gotten it all wet and dirty."

Naruto took a deep breath, a reprieve before he turned all of his attention on the bastard who did this to him. The silver-haired boy with bright blue-green eyes was holding the white and orange bandanna between his fingers, twirling it around his index finger. He was standing at the top of the bank, his expression smug and Naruto wanted to scream so hard that he could barely stand it.

"Hitsugaya, I'm going to kill you. That's all there is to it. Prepare to be-"

"Covered in mud? I believe you have that handled, don't you?"

Naruto was about to charge up the bank when he heard something rustling through the bushes. The two boys looked over to see Momo, who was positively confused at what was going on.

When she saw Naruto, her entire expression was filled with shock. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"Lil'Shiro over there stole the bandanna " he muttered angrily, brushing the mud off of his tunic and ignoring Toshiro's reminder that the nickname wasn't his name. "I'm fine, just cold and wet and angry."

And with that last word, Toshiro just could not hold it in any longer. He cackled into the sky, loud enough Naruto was certain that everyone in the Seireitei could hear him. Hinamori, trying to keep her composure, eventually caved and started to laugh as well, which naturally caused Naruto to realize the hilarity of the situation. His anger abated, he started to belly-laugh so hard that he nearly fell back into the muddy shallow water.

After a few moments of that, Toshiro calmly climbed down the bank, removing his sandals to join Naruto in the lake. He was kind enough to lay the bandanna on the limb of a tree, where it wouldn't be ruined.

Hinamori, noticing the two of them, began to undo her kimono.

"No! What are you doing?!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes bugging out of his head. He turned around, looked to the corner of his eye and saw that the silver-haired brat was still watching her. He waded over to him, still turned away from her, and plunged his head under the water. The blonde noticed how cold the other boy's skin felt, thinking that that was not exactly normal.

"It's no big deal, Narunaru," Hinamori replied, joining them in the lake. "I didn't want to get my clothes all yucky. See?"

Naruto peeked through his fingers to see that she still had her underwear on, and she was thoroughly submerged with only her head and shoulders sticking out. "Fine. But warn us next time, all right?" Momo just laughed.

Toshiro burst from the water, shouting for air. He then lunged at Naruto again, like some kind of silver, sloppy river monster, and the two of them wrestled and laughed.

For the next two hours, the three of them splashed and swam and got covered in mud, not a care in the world. Toshiro did not seem to notice that he was making the water colder around him, but Naruto did not care. They already knew that the silver-haired brat had a lot of reiryoku, even if he didn't admit it himself.

At the end of that, the three of them climbed out of the water and laid on a grassy hill overlooking the sparkling water. Momo tried to clean herself off in the shallow water, before joining them fully dressed. Naruto could only smile.

He loved being out here in nature, and if he had time, he liked to come out here and take a nap under the trees. Sometimes, one of the others came with him, but usually, it was just him.

"This is my favorite spot," he muttered from the base of the oak tree, his head resting on a root. He could see the breaks in the foliage, the way the sun broke through the leaves to give them a soft yellow glow. It made him feel like he was at home.

Toshiro was sitting up in the grass, watching the lake's push and pull creating small waves. He breathed in the air, not usually taking this much time to care about sitting outside. Outside was where the other kids in the district were, and they all treated him like dirt, like they were scared of him.

"This is nice," Momo muttered, running a dirty hand through her brunette bangs. She had climbed up a couple of branches and was lying perfectly balanced at a fork in a large branch. "I haven't done this in so long."

The three of them just waited and enjoyed the feeling for a long time. It was impossible not to enjoy it, even if you weren't a nature person. Peaceful, calm, and homey. Just like Naruto liked it.

"Ame is going to kill us when we get back, isn't she?" asked the silver-haired boy.

"Nah, just you," Naruto said, laughing. "You did cause this mud and stuff you know."

He smiled. "Maybe. But you did clumsily fall into the lake."

"Because I was chasing you."

"And? You still shouldn't have fallen into the lake."

Before it could turn into a much larger argument, Momo twisted towards Naruto and read his expression. "So, how would you say the last ten years have been?"

He thought about the decade. A decade since he was exiled from Hokutan. A decade since he was pleasantly accepted into Ame's home. About eight years since Toshiro finally warmed up to him, despite his cold exterior. About four years since the Shibas moved into town and started monthly fireworks shows; they were gone now, but the three of them had shared a lot of good memories under those light shows. Three years since he last saw Tadashi, who had come to visit them with news that Daichi had been arrested and charged with the rape of a different young girl; he hadn't told Hinamori about that, hoping to keep from bringing that up.

"It's been... really good," he said with a smile. He felt completely relaxed with not a care in the world. "I wish Ame was in better health though. If she hadn't started getting sick, then this would have been perfect." He solemnly looked up at the clouds, tracing one of them that almost looked like a raccoon with his eyes.

Ame had been waning slowly, for no determinable reason. She was exhausted all the time, her bones looked frail and her skin was always pale. It bugged all three of them that they couldn't find a way to make her better, although sometimes Toshiro liked to pretend she wasn't sick.

Today was one of the those times. "Oh, she'll be all right, you guys. Stop worrying so much."

"You can't deny that she looked awful this morning, Toshiro. There are some days when she's fine, and others when she looks like a walking corpse." Naruto tried not to notice the irony of the fact they were dead.

The silver-haired boy sighed. "You guys are depressing."

Momo looked at him curiously. "We're not depressing, Lil'Shiro. You're such a stick in the mud sometimes that you don't notice what's happening around you." With the look on her face, Naruto wasn't sure if she was talking about Ame's illness or the latent reiryoku the boy had.

"Oh, Ame, stop with that talk about spirit stuff again," Toshiro muttered. "And stop calling me, Lil'Shiro, Bed-Wetter Momo."

Hinamori just shook her head in disbelief, before looking at the two of them. "I've been doing some thinking, you guys. I'm thinking that I may join the Academy."

Naruto's eyes widened. "The Academy? You want to become a shinigami? I thought you said you didn't even want to try because you didn't think you'd be good at it."

"Well, today is a day that brings back good memories, and I thought I might just decide to make some more," she said with a smile. "Let's all apply! We could all be in the same class and learn from the same teachers and be in the same squ-"

"No," Toshiro muttered. "Too much stuff to do. Not enough time to do it. I'm not interested."

"What is all this stuff that you have to do, Toshiro?" asked Momo. "Last time I checked, you don't exactly have much going on. I think it could be good for us."

Naruto gave it some thought again, as Toshiro huffed that conversation away. He'd actually been considering doing it himself for a while, in the future, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to do so now. But Hinamori's expression was enough to at least make him reconsider.

"I've heard it's difficult though, Momo. Dangerous even. What if one of us got hurt?"

She sighed. "We've all heard Jidanbou's war stories, Naruto. Most of them are made up anyway. He was never a member of a regular squad; he's always been one of the gatekeepers. It was like his family was bred for that exact thing, all giant and imposing."

"That doesn't mean it's not dangerous," argued Toshiro. "Naruto's right, for once. It could be too much for us to handle."

"The three of us? We're strong, capable people! We can handle anything they can throw at us!" Momo said, beating her chest like an ape for emphasis. Naruto had to laugh not to point out how hilarious that was.

The blonde thought for another moment before sighing. "I guess I'll think about it, but how would we get into the Academy? Actually, where _is_ the Academy?"

"It's on the outskirts of the Seireitei, not too far from the wall on the north side. We have to pass a test though to get in, and there are these checkpoints all along the walls where they do tests."

"We'd have to pass a test?" asked Toshiro, "Just to get in?"

"I hate tests."

She scoffed. "You two are such party poopers. How do either of you know if you hate tests so much unless you remember tests from your past life."

"My hatred for tests is not bound to life or death. It will be forever lasting," said Toshiro, a serious and inexpressive frown stretched across his face.

Hinamori rolled her eyes. "You guys are impossible. I can't believe you don't want to do it."

When Naruto saw how upset Momo was, he finally collapsed. "Fine. I'll do it. When are we going to do it?"

"Soon," Momo said. "I'm not sure when, but the three of us will ask Jidanbou if he has any idea where the nearest testing station is or if we have to wait until a certain day."

"Three of us?" asked Toshiro, surprised and looking almost offended. "I'm not going to do this. If you two want to, go for it. I'm on my own here."

Hinamori looked like she would argue, but Naruto gave her a look. She sighed, but was still excited about the possibility. In a strange way, so was Naruto. He was excited, even if a little hesitant. It couldn't be all bad, right?

* * *

With Naruto's ten-year anniversary bandanna securely in place, which he wore as a headband, he headed to meet Jidanbou outside the gate. Hinamori was supposedly already there, as far as he knew. Toshiro stayed behind with Ame, taking care of her the best he could while his mind pondered his friends. Why would they commit themselves to this?

Getting to the gate from district one took almost no time at all, since most of Junrinan ran alongside the wall anyway. The walls to Seireitei were extremely tall, almost twice as large as Jidanbou was tall, and that was saying something. He caught sight of Momo standing outside the big western gate, called the White Way Gate.

Jidanbou was also there, outfitted with his two axes and the standard black robe of a shinigami. He was easily about eighteen feet tall, his axes a proportionally large size. Naruto would never, ever mess with him.

"Oi! Naruto!" the big goof bellowed. It was such a large and hearty sound. "How've you been?"

"Good, Jidanbou, how about you?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious. Momo gave him a smile as he approached, finally catching up with them.

"Doing just fine!" the man said, bulging his muscles in a way that made Naruto wonder if it was on purpose or by accident. "Momo said that you guys had a couple of questions to ask me."

Naruto nodded, but let Hinamori take the reins. "Well, we were wondering what the selection process was like. Is there a specific time or place where we have to do it?"

"Hmmm," the giant pondered, the hum creating enough vibration in Naruto's ears that he wondered if it was some kind of earthquake. "It's been nearly three hundred years since I've had to do any Academy business, but I suppose that it's still the same. A spiritual energy demonstration and a written exam." He stopped to consider it a moment. "I've let some potential students in recently, and they explained that the nearest testing center is located along the wall about an hour's walk to the north. It's not too far from here, and to get into Seireitei, you have to pass that exam and get the seal."

Momo smiled. "Oh, all right. Do you know if they are still accepting students right now, for the upcoming academic year next month? It's supposed to start in September, right?"

The giant nodded, his ax shaking behind his shoulder at the demonstration. "Yep. If you pass, you'll get a spot in one of two classes, one for advanced and one regular. If you fail, you won't be able to take it again until next June through August."

Momo nodded. "Okay, thank you for the information!"

"Yeah, you're awesome, Jidanbou. We'll take you out to dinner or bring you something good one day soon, all right?"

The giant seemed positively happy with that offer. "Don't you two forget now, you hear? And good luck with the exam!"

The two of them left, deciding to just go ahead to the testing center that was supposed to be an hour away. Momo was talking a mile a minute about how excited she was and how much she was looking forward to. She wanted something new to happen in her life, and quite frankly, Naruto could not blame her.

"I'm worried, Momo. I have never been very good at written tests."

The girl frowned. "Oh, hogwash. It's not that hard. You'll do just fine!"

Naruto did not feel like arguing, he just let Hinamori's positivity try to drown out his own negativity. She was excited enough for the both of them to do well, and he fully expected to do just that.

The testing station was barren of activity, but it was built directly into the wall that made up the great city's defenses. It looked a little bit barren, though like no one was there.

Momo dragged them up to the counter fast enough that the teller was so shocked to see newcomers that the strange glasses she was wearing were nearly knocked off. "Hi, ma'am, we'd like to take the exam!"

The teller looked over both of them for a moment before smiling. "I suppose that we can get you two situated soon. You're lucky because this is the last day of regular testing."

"Wow, we cut it close, didn't we?" asked Momo, a surprised look on her face. Naruto just laughed.

They filled out and signed quite a bit of paperwork and had to do a forced blood sample to get themselves into the system, before the teller could let them through to the testing site. When the clerk was done, she gestured to the door behind her.

"All right, the two of you will go through the double doors behind me. From there, you'll take a left until you see another hallway. Go down there and the first door on the right is where you need to go. Good luck!"

Naruto and Momo bowed to her, thanking her for her hospitality, before heading to the room she referenced. When they were certain they had found it, the two prospective students headed inside.

The room was like a large auditorium, but it was nearly devoid of activity. There were about three others sitting in the front row of the large auditorium and an older man, sitting on the edge of the stage. The chairs were like ones you would see in college, with a sliding panel used for a writing surface. Naruto had no clue where he knew that from, and it was actually physically disturbing him that he could not remember where he learned that.

"Oh, good!" the person on the stage said as they wandered in. "More future students. Come on up and get this packet and a pen."

They did just as he said, finding seats on the front row alongside the others. He gave them both a look and said, "At least one desk between the two of you, please." Naruto shifted over one seat, wondering how that would make a difference.

"All right. Who I am is not important, but the test you are about to take is."

Naruto grinned. "But sir, don't I deserve to know the name of the person who's about to kill me?" Momo reprimanded him with a look, but the instructor just laughed.

"A joker, huh?" the teacher asked, laughing. "That won't get you anywhere inside the walls of the Academy, so you'd better quit it now. No one inside is able to understand the beauty of humor like I can."

The blonde boy gave him a puzzled look before shrugging. The instructor went over a few rules first, most of which Naruto would have understood on his own. And then they were allowed to break the seal, open the booklet, and turn to the first page.

_Name the afterlife._ Naruto wondered why that first one was so simple, so he wrote out the obvious answer. _The Soul Society. _

_Who founded the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?_ The blonde cursed himself for not knowing this one. Had Jidanbou ever mentioned it to him? Oh! _Yamagenryuki._ That _had_ to be right.

_What are the three possible paths a graduating student can take? _Naruto only knew one, and that was from the previous question. He wrote that down and continued to the next question, hoping for partial credit.

_If a zanpakutou can demonstrate one thousand kilojoules of power in its shikai state, typically, how many kilojoules can it produce in its bankai state? Use the following equation._

Naruto's eyes widened, not even able to read that equation. He skipped that one and looked through the rest of the test. Most of them were simply not possible to answer. He looked through the corner of his eye to see Momo writing answers down to almost every question, and it completely upset him that he was unable to do so. They should have studied more or something.

After an hour of mental torture, Naruto was saved when the buzzer finally went off. The exam proctor gave the blonde a knowing smirk, wondering if it had tortured the boy enough.

He collected the tests, setting them on the stage near the podium before opening his bag and presenting a tiny silver orb. It looked like it could have belonged on a pearl necklace, or maybe even as an earring, but he had never seen anything like it before.

"This is a miniature version of a reishuukaku core, developed by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, which is also the answer to number twenty-nine," he muttered, eyeing Naruto again. "This is designed to draw out the reiatsu that you should possess, and if you have a good amount of control, you'll create a sphere of energy around your hands. Demonstrate good control, and you'll pass this portion."

He handed the orb to a girl on the front row first. She stood in front of the stage, before looking at the orb a moment. The girl smiled and simply concentrated for a short moment, a glowing orb of light generating around her palms. Naruto could feel the reiatsu pressing him into his seat, like some kind of oppressive feeling. The instructor nodded appreciatively, before passing the core to the next person.

Some seemed to pass and keep their orbs relatively stable, but others were unable to even do the simplest thing. Then it came to Momo.

Naruto wasn't sure if she would pass or not, because as far as he knew, she'd never learned to draw out spiritual pressure. Neither had Naruto, actually, so he was more than a little bit worried.

The girl concentrated for a long moment, holding the spherical object within her palms. Her eyes closed and for a brief moment, Naruto felt a strange sensation on his skin, like something was... pressing on it, warping it. He felt... odd, more odd than the others because this felt familiar. It felt... like an old friend.

And then, with only another moment, the orb began to glow and a transparent blue ball of light surrounded Momo's hands. Naruto's jaw dropped at the display, because he didn't think she could do it; she'd never mentioned _how_ to do it. The blue sphere was not perfectly solid, a bit shaky in places, but the teacher nodded at the display. "Good going." He took the core from her and handed it to Naruto. "Your turn."

"I don't know how to do it!" he exclaimed, cursing himself. One of the other students laughed. Hinamori was about to remark how to help, but the instructor gave her a warning glance.

"Doesn't mean that you cannot try."

The blonde nodded. If he wanted to have any chance at passing, he was going to have to do it.

He focused on the ball within his fingers for a few seconds, before trying to shift his focus toward his inner self, whatever that meant. He inwardly shrugged, thinking that it sounded good either way and tried again. He tried to find anything, remember anything that could give him access to his powers, but nothing happened.

The instructor nodded, taking the orb away from him. Naruto was going to protest, but the man cut him off. "A soul with no spiritual pressure does not belong as a shinigami, young one."

"I have spiritual pressure!" He started listing off things that he had done that were not explainable, like making cracks in the floor or melting his fingers through a wooden desk.

"It's too late," the teacher said, before turning to address everyone. "If you would, could you step back into the clerk's office while I grade your performance? It should not take very long."

The prospective students nodded, following his orders. The blonde boy sat next to Naruto, his mind swimming with worry about failure. Momo was supposed to give him a reassuring glance, but she looked as worried as he was.

"Don't worry! It's not as bad as you think," Momo tried, but he shook his head.

"Yeah it is. Those other kids were all able to at least generate some sphere. I couldn't do any of that. I answered maybe five or six questions on that entire test, Momo. I failed it, I failed it hard." He was just about to stand up, ready to leave.

"Where're you going?" asked Hinamori.

"C'mon, there's no point in staying. I knew we shouldn't have done this."

"But Naruto, I think I passed!" Momo declared, confused and offended that he would just get up and make both of them leave.

The blonde got up and started walking toward the door. When he heard Hinamori try to follow, he waved her back. "Don't worry about me, Momo. Meet me back at the house, all right? After you get your results."

Momo nodded, still wondering what had gotten him so upset. "Um, all right."

And with that, he walked out of the room, heading back towards the town. Momo was utterly bewildered, not sure if she should follow him or stay. Eventually, she made up her mind and sat down, feeling conflicted all the while.

* * *

Naruto heard Ame cough loudly, breaking him from his slumber. He turned his head to see her lying next to Toshiro, her body shivering and her breath literally like ice. He sighed, walking over to her to cover her up with his blanket, before slipping out of the room.

It was almost dawn, and there was just enough light coming through the windows for him to see well enough. He read through the notes that he had forced himself to write after his fourth failed attempt at the exam. He'd been compiling them, editing them, changing them over the years so that he had a sort of cheat-sheet.

Momo had visited only a few days before, excited about her fifth year starting at the Academy in just under a month. The two of them were happy for her, but Naruto would have been more happy if he were with her. He'd failed that damn test three times now, having skipped a year, and the next time to take it was coming up. He hated tests, hated them with a passion but he wanted to join the Academy now more than ever. He'd been trying for far too long to get in that he just had to pass this time.

When he was done reading over some spirit energy calculations and equations, the steps to doing them memorized in his head, he stepped into the night air. He sat on the porch, feeling the air against his skin and hearing the calm sounds of morning.

He sat there and thought. Thought long and hard about how to call out spirit energy. He'd managed to do it a few times, getting progressively better and better the more he did it. It helped for him to try to picture a certain shape in his mind and only that shape, allowing him to push all other objects aside and connect with his spirit energy. It usually worked nowadays, but it wasn't a perfect system. Nor was it as potent as it could be, as Jidanbou had explained once. But it was all Naruto had at the moment.

Toshiro would be up soon, and Naruto pushed thoughts about the Academy away when he heard the boy rustling indoors. The sun was beginning to rise, and the silver-haired boy stepped out of the house and joined him. The boy had not gotten much taller in the almost fifteen years that he'd known him, but neither had Naruto. Momo, however, seemed to have aged last time she visited. He had no clue why that made sense.

"Hey, Toshiro," he muttered under his breath, putting the notes away once more.

"You know, you come out here every single morning to study," the silver-haired boy muttered. "Or at least most mornings. What do you hope to accomplish? Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough with that damned test?"

Naruto was taken aback. "Toshiro... why are you so upset?"

The boy sighed and nearly yelled out. "Geez, I'm not upset with you. I think it's great that you are studying for it. I don't think it's great that you're obsessing. It can't be that damn hard to control your spirit energy."

"Can't be that hard, huh?" asked Naruto, curious and upset now. "You try, smarty-pants. Channel your reiryoku into the air around you."

The boy accepted the challenge, his face snide. He closed his eyes and started to breathe deeply, before causing the air around him to burst with cold air. Some of it literally froze at the effort, falling around him in small flakes. Naruto could feel the potency of the display, feel his body react to the presence of his best friend.

"There," he said. "You happy?"

Naruto was in awe. "How did you do that!?"

"Me to know and for you to find out."

"Me to find out, huh?" asked the blonde, before suddenly tackling the other boy to the ground. The two of them laughed and laughed until Ame shouted out a weak muttering to stop and that they were giving her a headache.

"Sorry, Ame!" Toshiro called out under his breath. "We'll be more careful!"

The two of them settled down, sitting on the edge of the porch to relax. Naruto watched the other people pass them by, walking down the busy street of Junrinan and going about their business.

"So you think I'm obsessing, huh?"

The other boy nodded. "Yeah. Ever since Momo passed and you didn't, you go through these periods every year where you shut everyone else out to prepare, and then you've failed every time. Why do you think that is?"

Naruto considered it a moment, giving it some thought. "I don't know."

"I know why," the silver-haired boy proudly declared, before pointing to Naruto's forehead. "You're thinking too much. You have to learn when to let things go and when to obsess. I'm not telling you to give up, but let it slide a bit. It's not the end of the world. You've got plenty of time."

Toshiro was right. Naruto had been thinking too hard. His mistake the first time he went into that test was not preparing at all. His mistake going into the subsequent tests was preparing too much. It was like something clicked in Naruto's mind.

"So... what do you need me to do to help you?"

"Help me? You're going to help me pass?"

"Hey, don't act so surprised. I tried to help you two years ago, but you shut me out every time."

"You did?"

Toshiro nodded. "And you and Momo call me oblivious."

Naruto turned to the sky, feeling the sun shining on his face. "Okay. Tell me this. How did you learn how to channel your spirit energy?"

The boy considered it a moment. "Channel is probably not the right word, since I never really learned to control it. I just... learned how to call on it."

"How though?"

Toshiro sighed. "I'm getting there. You're too impatient. It's not that hard to figure out. I just listened to Jidanbou telling Momo about it years back, before she even took the test. You just imagine feeling very, very emotional, a feeling that can make your entire body tighten up, kinda like a spring. Then you just... imagine your mind letting the spring go, while still being upset. Don't let yourself hold back any longer."

The blonde tried to do as Toshiro asked, sitting on the porch and trying to call on a specific emotion. He tried to force himself to be angry, to let his entire body react to that anger. After a moment, Toshiro visibly reacted by flinching away from him.

"There," the silver-haired boy said with a slight smirk. "Was that really so hard?"

Naruto shook his head, his head swimming with excitement. He now had a sure-fire way to call on spirit energy. He did not relax, allowing the feeling to progress to such a degree that he did not notice the adverse effects it was having. The columns holding the porch up started to splinter, and several people who had been milling about near their house started to run faster, as far away from the two strange boys on the porch.

"Okay!" Toshiro yelled, breaking Naruto's reverie and the control over his reiatsu, calming the feeling immensely. "That's enough. You're going to snap the porch in half if you aren't careful."

"Oh. Right," he muttered sheepishly, surprised that he could do such a thing.

"I'm going to go to the market," Toshiro said, standing up. "You want to come?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I'd rather head to the lake, clear my head. See you later."

Toshiro nodded and headed towards town, leaving Naruto there to think. The blonde got up, told Ame where he and Toshiro were going, and then headed toward the lake at a leisurely pace.

His mind was swimming with new information. Toshiro's trick to call on his reiryoku made perfect sense. He'd tried to do it before and had been able to, but it was difficult to do repeatedly. Now, here he was, able to push and pull on the power inside him. It was almost scary, in an exciting and inviting sort of way. If he could learn to control it, to keep it there and mold it to the shape of the sphere, then he'd pass the second portion of the exam.

Now if he could just concentrate on the first.

He arrived at the lake, immediately finding his favorite tree and sitting at the fork of two large roots, his head against the bark. He practiced calling on his spiritual pressure, the results very favorable. The waves seemed to move faster in his presence, the wind blow harder and more rapidly. The tree almost seemed inviting, so much so that he did not even notice that he had fallen asleep.

"Damn that insufferable woman!"

Naruto's eyes opened with a start, his vision still swimming from his dream of a red-haired woman. He looked up to see Toshiro standing only a few feet away. "What's wrong?"

Toshiro began a long spiel about going to a fruit stand, picking up a piece of fruit and getting treated horribly by the kiosk owner. "I turned around, running right into the chest of some blond woman wearing black robes and literally knocking me down. She tried to take up for me to the shopkeeper, but I ran off, too angry that the woman had knocked me down." He paused, upset. "Doesn't that just bother you?"

Naruto pondered it for a moment. "I don't understand why you're upset at her. You should be mad at the shopkeeper, if you ask me. She tried to help you. In fact, I think she might have been a shinigami."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "There's no way that a woman like that could be a shinigami. She'd suffocate the first time she had to run with that damn chest of hers!"

Naruto just laughed, imagining it now. "You ready to go back? It's almost getting dark, and I'm sure Ame is worried sick about us."

Toshiro nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

The blonde-haired boy shook his head free of the cobwebs, something having awoken him in the middle of the night.

He looked over, shocked to see Toshiro completely and utterly bewildered, panting loudly. There was a brief moment when Naruto saw someone else, a blonde woman with a very large chest, but it was gone so fast that he wasn't even sure he saw what he saw. The younger boy was staring at Ame with a pained expression.

"You okay?"

Toshiro shook his head, before gesturing toward the door. Naruto got up and followed, and Toshiro looked just about everywhere outside for something. "She just... disappeared."

"Who disappeared? What's going on?"

Toshiro looked toward Naruto. "That shinigami woman from earlier. She... I woke up from one of my usual dreams, and she was there. She basically said that if I don't become a shinigami, my reiatsu would kill Ame."

"What?" Naruto asked with shock.

Toshiro explained the entire encounter with the mysterious woman, every detail. It suddenly made so much sense for the two of them: Ame was sick and getting skinnier because of Toshiro's latent spiritual pressure. It was... unsettling, to say the least.

"I can't believe I have been hurting her all this time," he said with a grimace, wanting to practically hurt himself for being so stupid. "I should have listened to you when you guys talked about this reiryoku that I supposedly have. I should have realized that the reiatsu would have harmed her."

Naruto shook his head. "It's not your fault, buddy, and no one blames you. I've probably done my fair share of damage to her, to be perfectly honest, and that bothers me too." He stopped, looking at the sky for a moment. "What are you going to do, Toshiro?"

"When d'you say those tests were held?" the boy, his expression one of determination.

Naruto smiled, all of this far too sudden, although he wasn't sure he should be happy about it. "Um, there's another one coming up today. I wasn't going to take this one, I was going to wait until next week so I could prepare a little more."

"Nope, you're coming with me to take the test later today," Toshiro said in the early morning moonlight. "You're going to pass, I'm going to pass, and Ame is going to be just fine."

Once that was decided, Naruto grinned. "Momo is going to be so happy."

"Yeah, yeah. I finally caved on all the spirit stuff. Get over it."

* * *

With Ame's blessing, Naruto and Toshiro headed to the testing site. By this point, the clerk running the front desk knew Naruto by name, but Toshiro still had to fill out a bunch of paperwork. The other boy was thankfully on file.

Once that was settled, the two of them followed the clerk's directions into the testing site, the same auditorium Naruto had seen quite a few times already. Inside, the instructor was still the same man, but the place was a bit more full this time, with a little over two dozen participants and three more instructors.

Naruto found a place to sit and Toshiro followed, not sure about what was going to happen, but he had heard Naruto explain it enough times that he knew what to expect. The instructors handed out the sealed testing packets to each of the participants, explained the rules in the same way as before, and then told them to begin.

Naruto read question after question. He answered question after question. There were several that he wasn't entirely positive about, like a question detailing the behind-the-scenes legal process to transfer from one division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads to another. Or the question about the noble families that make up Central 46. But there were a majority of questions that Naruto knew without a doubt, and it was enough that he was feeling very, very good about this.

Toshiro was very quiet and seemed to pause a lot, making Naruto wonder what was going through his head. Toshiro had always been smart, scary smart really, so was this his method of thinking things through? Was he considering a bunch of answers or using his mind to decipher them? Naruto really had no clue, but he hoped that Toshiro would do well enough.

The time limit went off, and Naruto happily gave his testing booklet to one of the other instructors, who turned it in to the guy in charge. Toshiro and Naruto exchanged a look that was really not sure, but both felt relatively good about this.

The main instructor, whom Naruto had learned was Gengoro Ounabara over the years, gestured to the bag to start the next step of the exam. The exam proctors split the groups by rows and were each handed a reishuukaku core, the device to transmit spirit energy into a sphere.

Naruto always enjoyed watching this section of the exam, because it was interesting to guess if a certain person would do well or not based on their appearance. Some were able to generate huge spheres, others small ones, and some none at all. Last exam, Naruto had managed to create a sphere that immediately exploded in his face, so the tension was very high for him this year. One girl, her hair wrapped up in buns almost like a panda, generated a sphere of blue light that fluctuated for several seconds, making everyone worry that it would explode, before it finally stabilized; she seemed utterly relieved, thanking the instructor. Then it was Naruto's group's turn, and Toshiro was up first.

Naruto wanted to give him some last minute words of encouragement, but he knew it wasn't allowed. Toshiro stepped up to the plate on stage and was given the tiny, white-blue sphere that looked almost like a pearl. "All right, your turn, half-pint," Ounabara said, earning a glare from the younger kid.

Toshiro immediately closed his eyes and focused on the orb between his palms. Naruto noticed the air get considerably colder, as though a cool breeze was emanating from the silver-haired boy's very presence. Immediately, a glow was emitted from the core, growing larger and larger until it was covering an area almost all the way to Toshiro's elbows. Everyone there was shocked, especially Naruto. Was Toshiro really holding that much power?

"Well, a bit of a show-off, huh?" asked the main proctor, laughing as he touched the large, stable sphere and admired how solid it was. "Good job, kid, although it's a little cold." The sphere dissipated, and he grabbed the core from Toshiro and handed it to the next person.

There were three more people after him, and Naruto gave Toshiro a congratulatory thumbs-up. He passed that part of the exam beyond a shadow of a doubt, Naruto was sure.

"You again?" asked Ounabara when it finally turned to Naruto. "Haven't you given up already?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'll never give up. I'm going to pass this test one day, and that day is today."

The teacher smiled and handed him the core.

Naruto immediately thought of the moment when Kaori banished him from Hokutan, the anger he felt in that moment enough still, several years later, to cause him emotional distress. He felt the power start to grow from within, but it wasn't enough just yet. He thought of the moment when he fought Daichi, defending Momo from a possibly terrible situation. Finally, the orb began to glow and absorb his spiritual pressure, before expelling it in an orb of energy.

An extremely unstable orb of energy. It was nowhere near as large as Toshiro's, but it was shaking and vibrating more violently than the girl with the panda hairstyle. It made him think of how imbalanced the surface of a lake or a river was, and that imbalance was making him extremely scared. He did not want to repeat the year before, not going to stand for an explosion this time.

He tried to take his anger and console it with thoughts of excitement, things that made him happy. Things like Tadashi giving him the job he had held for so long, like the day he was moved into Ame's home. The orb began to solidify, turning from an unstable, flickering sphere into a stable, almost glass-like surface. It wasn't perfect and it did not last long, but it was enough for him. Naruto finally felt like he could have passed.

"Took you much too long, young Naruto," the instructor said with a smile. "Not perfect, but not bad. Not bad at all." He took the core and moved to the next person, but all Naruto could think about was his chances of passing. The silver-haired brat could only smirk.

* * *

The Academy was a tall, grand structure with a huge yard. It was completely closed off from other sections of the Seireitei, which Naruto wished he could have explored more than he did. Toshiro was standing next to him, already dressed in his standard Academy blue uniform. Naruto wished he could be in the advanced class with Toshiro, but all he could think about was the fact that he had passed at all. Naruto felt very nice in the crisp uniform, but he had a feeling that he would get very tired of it very quickly. He was more upset at the fact that he couldn't wear his headband, but he figured that it could wait.

"This place is massive," Toshiro said, humbled by the size. "Much bigger than any building back home."

Naruto had to nod. "Most definitely."

The yard was filled with students milling about, many with swords across their backs. The two boys wished that they had their own, because both felt like they stood out as first-years.

"Lil'Shiro! Narunaru!" yelled a voice. They both turned to its source, smiling as a very excited Momo Hinamori, dressed in her Academy red and carrying her sheathed blade, appeared from the top of the stairs. Both boys were extremely glad to see her, even though the nicknames were just a little annoying.

"Momo! How are you?" Naruto asked, as the girl hugged both of them hard around the neck.

"I'm doing just fine," the girl said. "I'm just ready for my last year of the Academy! Izuru, Renji and I have been waiting for far too long."

"Who are they?" asked Toshiro, but Momo waved them off.

"No worries, you'll meet them. Let me give you a tour, and then you'll have to head over to orientation!"

And with that, the three of them left to explore the place that would house them for the foreseeable future. Naruto was so excited that he could hardly wait.

Toshiro seemed to notice his expression. "You do realize this is a school, right? With tests and exams and homework?"

"Shut up, Toshiro, you're spoiling it."

* * *

**What did you guys think? Was it all right? Please, let me know in a review! **

**Also, a special thanks for all the attention! I didn't expect that many alerts and favorites in under two days, so thank you so much! Here's hoping the next update will not be too long from now! **


	3. 03: Rookies Again

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**.:03:.  
Rookies Again**_

Red hair was the only detail he could remember from the dream that had awakened him in the middle of the night. He tried to remember, tried very hard to make it all make sense, but nothing seemed to click.

He grimaced as he looked at the clock at his bedside, realizing that it was not too long until he needed to get up anyway. Classes started today, and Toshiro and Naruto's third roommate was supposed to arrive later in the morning.

He got up, turning off his alarm clock and looking at his sleeping friend in the other bed across the wall. He had fallen asleep with a book on his chest, a book about the theory of zanpakutou spirits. Naruto had a copy of his own and found it fascinating, if a little hard to read because the language was older, but Toshiro had lost himself in it. There was probably drool all over the page.

He quietly got dressed in his uniform, still enjoying how it felt to wear it. It felt good to be a part of something so... good. Toshiro kept reminding him that it was still going to be a school and that classes would likely be challenging, but Naruto was trying to look past that. He was trying to meet the challenge on his own, and Momo had offered to tutor both of them if they needed it. The blonde was confident that once he got the swing of things, he wouldn't need the tutoring, if he ever did at all.

In fact, he brought out the book about kidou, focusing on learning the theory as opposed to the actual incantations. That was some of Momo's advice, back from her first year. If they had a good background on the technicalities of a subject prior to class, they would more likely succeed in practice. He didn't want to overwhelm himself with trying to memorize the words to the spells he had never attempted to use, but he could find more use in memorizing the steps to using them.

He read up a little on hohou, or footwork, but that was easier when put into practice. It was difficult to follow on paper, much easier to follow when a teacher or instructor demonstrates it. He had tried a few of the steps outside the day he got the book, but both he and Toshiro had struggled. Hinamori had promptly demonstrated an advanced hohou move called shunpo, and Naruto had never been more amazed than the moment Hinamori practically teleported from one place to another almost fifty feet away. He realized that he would have to wait to learn hakuda and hohou on his own time.

Zanjutsu, however... Zanjustu was what he wanted to learn. He couldn't wait to get a sword, couldn't wait to learn how to use it, get his own zanpakutou and kick Hollow ass. He wondered if he had been any good with a sword in his past life, or if he even had any reason to use one in his past life. He was probably something lame like a restaurant worker or a garbage man.

There was a knock on the door, immediately causing Toshiro to groan and shove the pillow over his ears. Naruto chuckled, walking over to see who it was. Hinamori was likely already busy helping people check in, so he wondered if it was the other roommate.

The door opened, revealing a gangly teen who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen wearing the standard uniform and a bag over his shoulder. Naruto wondered why he wore his hair like that, with all of it tied in the back like some kind of spiky ponytail. The boy's expression was a tired one, and Naruto could already tell that he and Toshiro would get along.

"Good morning!" Naruto said, a bit of pep in his step. From the response, he knew that this kid was not used to someone as high-strung as Naruto. "Are you the third roommate?"

The boy nodded slightly. "Yeah. Just... tone it down a little, will ya?" He walked in and placed his bag on the last unoccupied desk, before starting to prepare his bed. "Silver-haired kid has the right idea."

"I'm not a kid," Toshiro muttered, slowly rising from the bed. The textbook fell off of his chest and landed on the floor, much to Toshiro's chagrin. Naruto grabbed it for him, placing it on the desk.

"Eh, don't let Toshiro bug you," Naruto began. "He's Toshiro Hitsugaya, and I'm Naruto."

The other boy pondered his statement a moment. "Naruto what?"

The blonde rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Just Naruto. I... I'm not sure what my last name is."

"Oh. Sorry," he said quickly. "I'm Shikamaru Nara, of North Rukongai Twenty-Eight."

"Cool. He and I are from Junrinan, West Rukongai One." Naruto started to explain their whole life story, but Toshiro cut him off.

"C'mon, Naruto, he doesn't want to hear all that. We'll have plenty of time to tell that later." And with that, Toshiro stood and began to change into his uniform.

"What about your life before?" asked Shikamaru, genuinely intrigued. "You started your story talking about Hokutan."

"Neither one of us remember our past lives," Toshiro explained.

Shikamaru frowned. "Oh. I was kind of hoping to be wrong, but it seems that anyone with a substantial amount of reiryoku does not remember anything before the Soul Society."

Naruto nodded, sadly. "I kind of figured that. But it sucks to realize it."

The other two nodded in agreement. "All right, I was hoping to try to get some sleep, but I don't think I have time now. You guys want to come to get breakfast, before class starts?" he paused, before saying, "Wait. Which class are you guys in, one or two?"

Naruto held up two fingers, and Toshiro said, "One."

"Oh, cool. I'm in two too." Naruto chuckled at the brown-haired boy's choice of words, but both of the others shot him a look that quieted him quickly.

* * *

After a quick breakfast and catching up, Naruto and Shikamaru split off from Toshiro and headed toward class. Shikamaru was hopelessly lost, but Momo had given Naruto explicit directions toward the lecture hall. He still remembered them, thankfully.

"You excited for class?" asked Naruto.

The other boy shook his head. "Not really. It's... not something I'm going to worry about."

"Confident?"

Nara nodded. "Yeah. I'm not too worried about the actual class work. It's the practical stuff I'm worried about."

Naruto laughed. "I'm the exact opposite. I'll have to study pretty hard to learn all that history and math, but I think I'll do really well when we actually get to do something."

Shikamaru smiled, just as they finally arrived at the lecture theater. They sat together somewhat in the back, and Naruto hurriedly gathered a notebook and his textbook to follow along. Shikamaru just sat, and Naruto was confused.

"You're not going to get out any paper or anything?"

The other boy shook his head, stretching in his seat. "Nah. We're not likely to cover anything too complicated today. I'll just sit and absorb."

The blonde shook his head, grinning. Toshiro and Shikamaru were practically the same person sometimes, Naruto could already tell.

The professor, a short squat woman named Keiko Takashi, was the main instructor for class two. She was going to oversee all of the instruction, including the zankensoki. The zankensoki were the four physical manifestations of a shinigami's training: hakuda, hohou, kidou, and zanjutsu. She went through a basic overview of the instruction during the first year, which was mostly basic knowledge every shinigami would need to know. Naruto couldn't wait to get to the fun stuff.

"So that's when and why the Spiritual Arts Academy was founded," Takashi said, explaining the origin of the two-thousand one hundred-year-old building.

"But ma'am, it has not been called the Spiritual Arts Academy but for the last two hundred years," a voice in the corner interrupted, before its owner stood up to answer, "They changed the curriculum of the Shinigami Academy to include the Kidou Corps and the Stealth Force after the Quincy War, becoming the Spiritual Arts Academy as a result." Naruto could see nothing about her but her long, almost waist-length pink hair.

The lecture hall was silent. Shikamaru and Naruto shared a glance before Takashi could comment.

"Miss, could you come down here for a moment?" the professor said with a smile, a warm and inviting one. The girl was eager to get up, and Shikamaru shook his head.

"She's about to get slaughtered up there." Naruto peered at him before turning his attention back to the girl.

The professor put her arm around the girl's shoulder in a warm, one-armed hug, a bright smile on her face. "Miss, could you tell everyone your name?"

The pink-haired girl proudly grinned. "Sakura Haruno, ma'am."

The professor let go of her and sat down in the front row. Everyone was confused for a moment, including Sakura. Finally, the professor said, "Go on, professor. Why don't you teach us more about the vast history of the Spiritual Arts Academy?"

Sakura, having realized at that moment she was being played, nervously looked down. She said something indeterminable, before hurrying back to her seat. She wiped her eyes, and Naruto frowned.

Most of the class was in uproar, laughing. But some were watching the girl with concern.

"Can the professor do that? Embarrass her students in front of everyone like that?" asked Naruto.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. Technically, Sakura _did_ try to correct the professor, even though what she was correcting did not matter in the slightest. The Shinigami Academy just changed its name after the Quincy War; it didn't become a new thing, in the most basic sense."

"Whatever," Naruto whispered. "I still don't like that the professor did that."

Shikamaru could only shrug. "Well, no matter if the professor was in the wrong or not, Sakura has made herself a target. Hopefully Takashi is not a vindictive person, but she should be careful. Takashi does control the grades."

When that lecture class was finished, about forty minutes later, the practical classes began. First up was kidou, which Naruto was apprehensive but excited for. Everyone headed to the practice field, which included practice dummies and targets across a large, barren field.

"Narunaru!"

The blonde looked up to see Hinamori heading toward them. She smiled brightly, waving at him. "Hey, Momo! What are you doing here?"

"Sixth-years have to help as teaching assistants, so I chose to help the kidou classes for first-years this year. So that I could help you and Toshiro with kidou!" Momo grinned.

Naruto seemed to remember that Shikamaru was there. "Oh, this is our other roommate Shikamaru. Shikamaru, this is Momo Hinamori. We basically grew up together."

"Nice to meet you, Shika."

The boy seemed to flinch at the nickname, an odd reaction Naruto thought. "Likewise."

A blonde teenager with his hair hanging so thickly over his eye that Naruto was sure he would never have depth perception walked over and joined Momo. He was a sixth-year, based on his overall look. "Oh, Naruto and Shikmaru, this is Izuru Kira. He's one of the best in our year when it comes to kidou."

"Momo, I believe you know as well as I do that that title belongs to you," Kira countered, making Momo just shake her head. "Nice to meet you, freshmen."

The professor took over control of the class, having Momo and the other sixth-years line up the students in solid groups to make things more organized. The professor began to explain the purpose of the goal, which was to demonstrate the difference between hadou and bakudou. She explained the basic method of casting spells, using their reiryoku in a refined way, instead of the widespread pressure she hoped they could all use at this point. She went over the incantation, before having the sixth-years demonstrate the spells themselves.

Naruto watched Hinamori, who lined up in front of Naruto's column. She began the chant, the words rolling off of her tongue with no hesitation. Spirit energy seemed to wrap around her fingers as she chanted, blue gathering and shining brightly. She suddenly flicked her wrist as she pointing, shouting the words, **"Hadou Number Four: Byakurai!"**

All of the sixth years emitted a large, fast bolt of blue lightning from their fingertips, hitting the targets and leaving scorching burns near the center. Naruto knew without bias that Hinamori's had been the most powerful in speed, intensity, and accuracy. She was a natural, and it made Naruto extremely envious. But Kira's could give her a run for her money, that was for sure.

"Very good," Professor Takashi said, before getting the others ready. She went over the incantation several times with everyone, having them all repeat after her. Naruto was sure he remembered it, but he went over it several times in his head and muttered it under his breath.

Shikamaru ended up going before Naruto. The brown-haired boy finished the incantation, shouted the spell, and pointed. There was only a tiny flicker of light at the end of his finger, but it was very fast just not very intense. Shikamaru cursed under his breath, turning around and taking note in his mind how to improve the next time.

He noticed the pink-haired girl Sakura next, watching as she stepped up to the plate. Naruto was surprised to see that she did not even say the incantation, before shouting the end of the spell and firing the kidou. It was not as bright or as fast as Momo's, but it managed to clip the target. She turned around, rather smug that she had done so without the incantation. The professor looked at her curiously, but Sakura did not notice. Naruto remembered the passage from the book about eishouhaki, or incantation abandonment. Was she really skilled enough to successfully produce a spell without saying the incantation, even though it was less powerful?

Naruto had to do right. As it was his row's turn, he took a deep breath and called on the power within himself. He began the incantation, the words spilling from his mouth surprisingly easily. He pointed his fingers and shouted,** "Master of the skies, pillar of all-consuming light! Split the heat from shadow and rend the heavens asunder! Hadou Number Four: Byakurai!"**

The blue lightning bolt was extremely intense, and if he was right, he thought it might have been more powerful than even Momo's. It, however, was too high to hit the target, leaving a large scorch mark on the wall behind the target. He stared at his fingers, feeling rather good about his display even though he missed.

Momo clapped him on the back. "That was great, Naruto. A little slow, but powerful!"

He beamed.

The next they were going to demonstrate was a bakudou spell. They were all lined up again, in the same order. She taught them the spell incantation and had the sixth-years demonstrate.

The human-shaped straw dummies could not stand a chance as Hinamori and the others stated the incantation, shouting, **"Bakudou Number One: Sai!"** The spell forced the dummies' arms back behind their back, painfully forcing them to bend backwards. Momo's reacted quickly and a little bit more forcefully than the others.

They released the spell, the straw dummies returning to normal before the students were allowed to begin. Shikamaru did the spell quite well this time, binding the dummy without causing too much trouble. He was proud that he was able to do the binding spell.

Naruto watched Sakura again, and she was able to do the spell again without incantation. Who the heck was this girl and why was she able to do this so easily? Had she prepared a lot or something for the class? Why was she in class two if she was so good?

Naruto stepped up to the plate, earning a good luck from both Hinamori and Shikamaru. He waited a moment, looking at this dummy before beginning the incantation. **"Stop in the name of your god, kneel eternally at the feet of justice. Bind your hands in a fearful, never-ending prayer! Respect the authority of omnipotence! Bakudou Number One: Sai!"**

The training dummy before him immediately locked its arms behind its back, the effect taking so fast that it forced the dummy to the ground. He beamed, this time both accurate and powerful. Hinamori was stunned, her jaw literally open.

"Wow, Naruto," she said, still surprised. "I have to say, I didn't expect you to be as good at kidou as you are. You're better than I was when I was in year one. Excellent job."

"I don't know about that, Momo," Naruto said modestly, stepping back to let the next one perform the spell. "Isn't kidou your best subject?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it is. But that doesn't mean it can't be yours as well."

He thought about it a moment, smiling. Something about kidou felt natural to him, more natural than he would have thought. It was... familiar.

When kidou class finished, they were to head to the hakuda dojo. Once again, there were several sixth-year students there to demonstrate for the teacher, with practice spars and fighting forms, but there were not any familiar faces among the older students. Naruto paid a lot of attention to the demonstrations, but they were not going to get to spar any on the first day; that was where Naruto knew he would learn the most, when he actually got to fight someone one on one. Takashi got the groups lined up in blocks, and they each learned different punches, kicks, and other types of moves. The blonde was more interested in grappling than straight up punching, but he could already tell that hakuda was not his best.

That class went by without much of a surprise, and then it was time for another lecture about the inner workings and physics of reiryoku. Naruto and Shikamaru both had trouble staying awake, but Sakura managed to keep her mouth shut the entire period. All the math and equations was much too boring.

"If we have another class like that, there will not be enough naps in the world for me to stay awake the rest of the day," Shikamaru finally said, on the way to the cafeteria for lunch.

"No doubt," Naruto said. "That stuff is the stuff that's hard for me."

"Well, at least there isn't another lecture class the rest of the day," said Shikamaru as they entered the cafeteria and headed toward the line. "Two regular classes might not be as bad as I thought."

Naruto nodded, unsure. "Maybe not. If we're lucky."

They finished getting their meals and headed to find a table. Thankfully, Toshiro had already found one and was sitting with someone Naruto had not met. A tall, black-haired boy with violet-colored eyes. Both of them already had Asauchi blades on the backs, which bugged Naruto immensely.

"Hey, Toshiro," Naruto said, sitting down next to Shikamaru and across from the new kid. "Why do you guys already have swords?"

"Class one and two alternate schedules," explained the stranger. "Class one has zanjutsu and hohou in the morning, and kidou and hakuda in the afternoon." He paused, before smiling. "I'm Sojiro Kusaka."

"My name's Shikamaru Nara, and that's Naruto. So how were your morning classes?"

"Zanjutsu was really fun. They let us get Asauchi blades, but we ended up practicing with wooden swords. I guess they don't want us to kill each other," Kusaka said with a laugh. "Practicing shunpo was really interesting. And harder than you think."

Naruto laughed. "I can imagine it will be difficult."

"How were yours?" asked Toshiro.

"Naruto's practically a master of kidou," said Shikamaru without a moment of hesitation. "If he had hit his target with the first spell, there probably would not have been a target left. He had more luck with Bakudou."

Toshiro peered at him. "Really? I wouldn't have thought you'd be good at it because of how you have to memorize stuff."

The blonde shrugged. "Beginner's luck?" The others laughed. "Hakuda was not very fun. I don't see myself being very good at it."

"Me neither," Shikamaru added. "I can't see myself ever wanting to get close to someone and take them out with only my fists."

Toshiro laughed. The four of them talked for a bit longer, finishing their meals. The time was up as soon as Naruto finished his last bite, and they had to hurry off to hohou.

Class two was already milling about along the track, the breeze feeling very good today. The outdoor track was made specifically for using techniques based off of shunpo, because it was easily two hundred yards long. Naruto wondered if anyone had ever traveled two hundred yards in a single shunpo.

"All right, the basic shunpo is the most important technique to learn in hohou. In battle, outmaneuvering an opponent may be the only thing that can save you, especially if the opponent is more skilled or has more power than you," explained Takashi. "Having good footwork and being able to perform fast flash steps is one of _the_ most important things you can do in combat."

The sixth-years lined up, and Naruto was amazed when they literally vanished from sight and then reappeared, before vanishing again in another step. They could cover several yards without even having to break a sweat. Naruto_ had_ to know how to do this.

The professor explained the theory behind placing reiryoku around your feet and using it to sort of boost you through the environment, trying to help them visualize it so that it was easier to do. When it came time to try, Naruto thought he had a good concept of it.

Shikamaru ended up getting to go first out of everyone. He prepared for it a moment, before launching himself forward. He literally vanished for a second, before stopping almost thirty yards away. He looked at where he was, shocked that he had managed it.

"Well, that might be the fastest shunpo for a first year I've seen in years," Takashi commented, clapping. The other students clapped out of respect, but some did not like the display. Much in the same sense that many did not like that Sakura girl's outburst earlier.

Many students followed Shikamaru, but none were as fast as him. One girl, the girl Naruto had seen whose hair buns made her look like a panda, was fast enough that she hit fifteen yards faster than Shikamaru did, but they were only allowed one step to judge each other so she could not get as much distance as Shikamaru. Even the pink-haired Sakura girl tried, but she was only about half as fast as Shikamaru had been.

Then it came to Naruto. He lined up at the start and used his reiryoku to push himself forward, immediately "stepping." His vision and senses blurred for a briefest of moments before he found himself at twenty-five yards, nearly as far as Shikamaru. Takashi commented highly on his speed, but that Shikamaru had pretty much won over every student there.

"Interesting," Takashi commented. "A solid group of class two students this year. This will be interesting, I think, but it all comes down to your zanjutsu. Let's head to the dojo."

As they walked, Naruto caught up with Shikamaru. "You were great. How did you get to be so fast?"

The Nara boy smiled. "Good at running away? Sometimes, fighting is troublesome."

_Troublesome..._

That word stirred something in Naruto. Something about it seemed too familiar, too real. He'd used it before, but something about that phrase...

Shikamaru snapped his fingers in front of Naruto's face, stunning him and breaking his reverie. "We're here."

The zanjutsu dojo was a grand gymnasium, filled with sparring dummies and lined with protective mats. There were several marked areas that Naruto suspected were sparring arenas. Along one wall were several racks filled with Asauchi blades and wooden practice swords, and several of them were manned by sixth-years.

They all lined up on the wall opposite the racks, waiting on Takashi's signal to go over and pick up a practice blade and an Asauchi. The Asauchi blade would one day become their personalized zanpakutou, so everyone was anxious. Most people were muttering about picking the right one, but even Naruto knew that they were all identical katana.

"All right, class two, today we'll be working on several different forms and methods, but our first goal is to have each of you learn to respect the weapon you're to be given. For the first hour of this two hour class, you're going to be given your Asauchi blade and you're going to clean it, polish it, and sharpen it."

She went over a few more details, but once she was done, the sixth-years broke them into small groups again and had them go over to the rack and get both an Asauchi and a wooden practice sword.

Naruto was in the same group as both Sakura and the panda-headed girl, and he ended up behind her on the way to get the sword.

"I've seen you around," he said. "What's your name?"

The girl turned to look at him. "Oh, yeah. You were there the day of the exam, and you fired that super kidou earlier that everyone was talking about. It's a shame that it missed. I had both spells blow up in my face." She stuck out her hand. "Tenten."

"Naruto," he replied. "Both spells?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Kidou is not my thing. But I can't wait to get my sword!"

He grinned, liking her enthusiasm. "Me too. Can I ask you something though?"

"Sure."

"How did you perform that fast shunpo earlier? Like, you were faster than me and my roommate Shikamaru, but you didn't go very far."

She thought about it a second, as they both moved up in line. "I guess it's just a short burst of speed. I can't make the energy last for long enough to get very far, if that makes sense. It's hard to describe, actually."

It was hard to think about on the scale of shunpo, but it made sense.

"I don't think I have a lot of reiryoku, so I guess I can only go so far at a fast speed."

He pondered it a bit. "I bet there's more to it than just the amount of energy you have. You might can get a lot faster!"

"Maybe," she muttered, thinking it over.

"Actually, it has a lot to do with the amount of energy," said a voice. Naruto and Tenten looked forward to see Sakura, who had apparently been listening. "It also has a lot to do with how refined the energy is. It's all a balance of reiatsu and reiryoku."

Naruto and Tenten shared a look. This girl was a know-it-all. "That makes sense. Um, Sakura, wasn't it?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Sakura. What are your names?"

Tenten and Naruto introduced themselves. "How did you do all that kidou without an incantation?" asked Tenten. "Everyone noticed and was talking about it at lunch."

"Um, it's called eishouhaki, when you do a kidou without the whole spell," she explained, which Naruto confirmed with his own knowledge. "I was, um, trying to do it to make up for my outburst in class earlier... I was trying to show the professor that I wasn't... I guess I was trying to make up for it."

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. It was really interesting that you could do all that with your kidou. I'm jealous."

Sakura laughed sheepishly, but the sixth-year finally called out, catching Sakura's attention. The sixth-year was a man who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen and had bright red hair that was eerily similar to Shikamaru's hair style. Sakura accepted her blade, her wooden practice sword, and her sharpening and polishing kit. Tenten and Naruto took their own and headed back, thanking the sixth-year as they did.

Tenten, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru found each other and began to polish their new weapons, using the sharpening stones and the polishing kit to treat the blades. Naruto felt very, very cool holding the blade and he literally could not wait until they were allowed to start jinzen, that process to connect to their zanpakutou spirit. They worked relatively quietly, but they all learned some things about each other.

Like the fact that Sakura was from South Rukongai, district fifteen. That she had basically lived with a good family of other departed souls and that the district was pretty wealthy and that she had not had much trouble since her death. Tenten was from East Rukongai, district sixty-seven, and had had a much worse afterlife than the rest of them. Sakura had wanted to become a shinigami because of the stories she had heard about women in the Seireitei. Tenten had witnessed a battle against a hollow several years back, and she had really wanted to become one after that moment. Shikamaru had always wanted to do it, but he had not had the motivation to do it until this year.

When they were finished polishing their swords as a group, each were told to sheathe the Asauchi and get out their training swords. Takashi stepped forward and gestured for the sixth-year who had handed out the sword to Naruto, Tenten, and Sakura. "All right, Renji Abarai here is one of the most experienced zanjutsu users in the Academy right now. I'm going to have him go through some of your basic forms and stances with you, just to get your prepped. You need to be prepared because we're going to slowly start sparring over the course of the year, so knowing these basic steps will help you very much. Renji, if you would, take it away."

He gestured for them to split up so they all had room to move around if need be. "I'm not sure if I'm the right teacher for you guys, since I don't really know how to fight as well as I would like. But I know the basics and I'll teach you the basics as well."

He showed them several poses, several types of swings, stabs, and parries. Naruto absorbed each one, enjoying the possibility of using each in a spar against Toshiro and Momo one day. Toshiro would probably have gotten some advanced techniques because he was in class one, but those wouldn't matter. He'd show his friends what he could do.

* * *

Several months had passed by since the start of the Academy. Naruto was passing with flying colors. His hakuda was still his overall weakest link, but he felt like he was going to get better each day the more he practiced. He was probably the best in his class at sword-fighting, he had a surprisingly well-suited knowledge of kidou and had improved his accuracy tenfold since he started. He could sense reiryoku and control it relatively well, and all of his friends' reiatsu signatures were familiar to him.

He went through, finding each one once more just for practice. Based on her signature, Tenten was sitting in her room with her roommate Samui. Sakura was training in the Academy's sick bay, getting personal one-on-one time with a seated officer of Squad Four that Naruto had never met. Shikamaru was sitting outside the room, in the middle of a grassy knoll on the grounds and performing "jinzen," which was a fancy way of saying that he was taking a nap. Momo was busy in some kind of calligraphy class that a lot of girls went crazy for, probably because it was run by Squad Five Captain Aizen.

But something was wrong. Sojiro's presence was... gone. And had been gone for a few hours, which could be Naruto's error, but it had been too long. He and Toshiro had been called to meet with one of the higher-ups in the Academy, and then they both seemed to vanish from his presence. Now Toshiro was headed toward him, scaring him because of how distressed it felt, while Kusaka was nowhere to be found. .

It wasn't like the difference he felt when Toshiro gained his shikai a month ago. This was... distressed, very random and fluctuating.

Shikamaru opened the door to the room a couple of minutes later, appearing in a flash of shunpo. "Naruto, do you feel that too?"

"Something's wrong with Toshiro."

The two of them decided to head together to meet up with the other shinigami-in-training. It took them a few minutes to find the flash of silver hair to mark his presence.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, causing the boy to look up a moment. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the tears across the boy's face. "What... what's wrong?"

"Those bastards," he muttered, cursing and clenching his fists around the bloody blade. "Those damn bastards..."

Shikamaru, when he noticed the blade, did not step farther. But Naruto met the silver-haired boy and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I don't... I don't understand," Naruto commented.

Shikamaru seemed to notice something else. "Toshiro, where's Kusaka?"

The younger boy immediately cried out in anguish, dropping his sealed zanpakutou to the ground. The boy dropped to his knees in the middle of the school yard, tears streaming down his face. "I'm going... I don't... I don't understand. Why? How could this happen?" He continued to mumble incoherently, but Naruto finally forced the boy to look at the blonde.

"Toshiro, what happened to Kusaka?"

"They... they, no, Central 46 said that there could be only one," explained Toshiro. "Kusaka... Kusaka gained his shikai yesterday, and he... he had Hyourinmaru too somehow."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "How is that possible? Zanpakutou are unique to the shinigami."

"I don't understand it either. But Central 46... they wanted us to fight to the death, to reveal the true owner of Hyourinmaru. Kusaka charged at me, forced me to fight him. I had him immobilized and I was going to just give up my sword so we would both be okay, but the stupid nobles wouldn't have it. The Stealth Force arrived, and I suppose you two can figure out what that meant."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Sojiro... he's dead?"

Toshiro nodded. "And it's all my fault!"

"It's not your fault. You can't help the power you were given, and neither could he. Central 46 is at fault here," Shikamaru said. "I'm sure there's another example where this law made sense in the past, but it should not even be an issue. It doesn't make sense that anyone could have the same zanpakutou as anyone else."

"That's what I thought," Toshiro said. "But Kusaka had Hyourinmaru just the same. I don't get it. I don't understand how they can toy with emotions like this."

Shikamaru shrugged. "It's probably one of those, 'We're doing it for the good of all, the bad of the few,' situations. Almost like the Quincy war."

They couldn't argue with that logic. Naruto realized that they probably needed to head inside and get out of the middle of the yard, where everyone could see. Toshiro followed the two roommates back to their joint room.

Naruto did not know how anyone could do this kind of injustice. But whatever had caused it, he wanted to know so he could get to the bottom of it. No matter how many years it took him. He owed that much to Kusaka and to Toshiro.

* * *

Takashi lined the entirety of class two along the outside of the building. She herself was not going to go, but she was going to open the Senkaimon for several sixth-years to get some prime experience leading a mission in the World of the Living. The first-years of class two were going to go and practice konso, or soul burial, in a population center with a high spiritual density called Karakura Town.

Naruto and the others had gotten an explanation from Toshiro about this little expedition, because class one got to do this same trip in first semester of the year. Basically, they were going to go to a barrier-enclosed area within the city, monitor the souls using konso, and fight dummy hollows along the way. They were not expected to be attacked by actual hollows, but it was a small possibility.

Renji, Izuru, and Momo were leading the expedition team, and a few other sixth-years had already left to prepare the area they were going to monitor for the night. This was the kind of thing Naruto craved, but he wished he had his shikai to feel more secure.

Toshiro had obtained his shikai about a month after this field trip earlier in the year. Naruto had wanted to get his own ever sense, just to see if he could get something as amazing as Hyourinmaru. He wished that Toshiro could enjoy his sword again, like he seemed to before Kusaka gained its unnecessary twin and got himself killed for it. Now, the silver-haired "genius kid" of class one could not look at his sword the same way.

None of Naruto's other friends had managed to obtain shikai, but Tenten and Samui both claimed they could hear their blades calling to them. Shikamaru, Sakura, and Naruto had yet to make successful connections to their zanpakutou, but all were certain that it was going to come sooner rather than later. Naruto fully expected to have learned his sword's identity before graduation, if not long before then.

Takashi wished them luck and gave them one last bit of advice, to make sure that they contacted the sixth-years if they got into trouble. And with that, she drew her blade and twisted it in the air like a key, causing a bright white circular portal made of a traditional Japanese door panel to open. After only another minute, Kira and Hinamori headed in first and called for the next group. When Naruto finally joined them passing through the portal, he remembered why he had not ever dreamed of flying.

Abarai brought up the rear, but the feeling of traveling through the Senkaimon was strange, each of them carrying the personal hell butterfly he had claimed earlier in the year. If one of them had not picked it up, they might have been shot through time like some kind of strange time traveler. The Cleaner was a powerful force, almost like a rushing locomotive.

The portal opened again on the other side to a beautiful city-scape. Naruto had never seen anything like this, having never seen all these lights and tall buildings and short buildings and schools. There were many rushing cars, strange contraptions that allow humans to get around. It was odd to see so many people living in one place, nearly as crowded if not more so than Rukongai or the Seireitei.

Naruto was fascinated. Simply fascinated by the large city, and he did not even have to wonder if he had seen a city like this in his past life. He was certain that he had not, because he was sure he would remember such a magnificent place.

Momo stepped to the front, shushing everyone and catching their attention. "Okay, you guys, it's time to get this thing going. The other sixth-years have prepared a certain radius and enclosed it with a barrier that will warn us of the appearance of actual hollows. The purpose is to simulate the experience that you may have while monitoring an area in the real world, like fighting the dummy hollows and performing konso on the souls here."

"This area has an unnaturally high reishi and reiryoku density for a place in the World of the Living," Kira explained, "so you should have plenty of souls to perform on. We'll be staying here for a period of one night before we had back to the Seireitei."

"Everyone understand?" asked Abarai, looking over all of them. Naruto nodded with his group, Sakura and Tenten. The three of them were going to fight the dummy hollows as a team, using their powers to complement each other.

Everyone split up with a single shunpo, Naruto's group heading toward the western perimeter of the barrier-enclosed city. They were assigned to go there and defeat any dummy hollows within a certain radius, before meeting back at the starting point.

"This should be fun," Tenten said as they finally found their spot, above what looked to be a high school being constructed. "Interesting."

"The dummy hollows should have a specific reiatsu signature we can track," Sakura said. "Naruto, will you confirm this for me? Can you feel one about four hundred yards to the northeast?"

Naruto opened up his senses, knowing that Sakura was probably right, but he still needed to check. When he felt the unique pressure he nodded, immediately gesturing for them to follow. The three of them shunpo'd to the area, surprising the mechanized hollow developed by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.

**"Bakudou Number One: Sai!" **Naruto and Sakura yelled together, the dummy hollow not even able to react as it was flipped upside down, its claws forced together like they were bound.

Tenten shot towards it in another burst of speed, slashing at the mask with her Asauchi in a diagonal cut. It was immediately sliced in half with the mechanical sound of rupturing parts.

"Yeah!" she yelled, grinning at Naruto and Sakura. But something was happening while her back was turned. The two mechanical halves suddenly regenerated, forming two identical dummy hollows. Naruto saw was what happening a tiny bit faster than Sakura, and in one more flash of speed, he drew his blade and stepped in front of Tenten's back, blocking the first dummy hollow from attacking her.

He shoved it off and then slashed, destroying the first in a burst of spiritual pressure that caused it to explode from the effort. Sakura stepped forward and began another incantation. "**Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadou Number Thirty-one: Shakkaho!" **A large red ball of energy gathered at her palm and fired, exploding on impact and reducing the second half to nothing.

The three of them took a deep breath, not one of them willing to sheathe their swords in case the hollows regenerated and doubled once more. "Those nerds at the SRDI love to cause mayhem, don't they?" asked Tenten, laughing uneasily when they were sure that the hollows were in fact destroyed. "Anyway, there should be a Whole around here if the hollow was attracted to this area, dummy or not."

Sakura nodded. "I think I've located it." She pointed to an alleyway about fifty yards away. The three of them ran over there, deciding not to shunpo so they didn't scare it off. It was a little boy, not even ten years old, with a broken chain of fate extending from his chest. He was scared, still hiding and flinching when they approached.

Tenten decided to do the honors, holding her sword up above her head. "I'm not going to hurt you, little boy. What's your name?"

The boy peered at her. "Sa-Satoshi."

"Well, Satoshi, I need to send you to the Soul Society. It's a beautiful place where you won't suffer anymore. Does that sound okay?"

The boy nodded slightly, and that was enough for Tenten. She took the sword, turned it around, and popped the boy on the forehead with the hilt. In a brilliant display of blue light, the boy vanished into the earth with a peaceful smile on his face. Naruto took a deep breath, taking in the serene moment.

"That felt... that felt good," Tenten said with a smile.

Immediately, the three of them flinched as a reiatsu signature popped into play again, only a few yards away. Naruto ran out of the alleyway, shocked to see that the tiny bits of the dummy hollow that existed before slowly started to regenerate. They were now standing next to nine different dummy hollows, each of identical size and reiatsu.

"What the hell?" he muttered, shocked that these still regenerated from their bits.

"We should have destroyed them more completely!" Sakura shouted, before getting proactive. She dashed forward, her sword at her side, before she launched herself into the air. She channeled reiatsu into her fist and smashed in the mask of one of them, before flipping away and heel-crashing into the mask of another. Both exploded into bits.

Naruto was impressed, but he had his own to worry about. He rushed forward, using shunpo to increase his speed. He slashed off the claw of one hollow, twisted and cut into the side of the another. He fluctuated his reiatsu to negate an attack to his side, before slashing outward and cutting that entire monster in half.

He jumped into the air and pointed. **"Hadou Number Four: Byakurai!" **A stunning blue and white bolt of lightning shot from his fingertips, blasting directly through the mask of two hollows, making them explode into tiny bits.

Tenten chopped another in half, twisting her blade in an adept display of perfect zanjutsu form to destroy another in the same swing. Naruto grinned as he witnessed it, admiring her natural ability with a sword. Her speed was still impressive, besting Shikamaru and Nartuo but still having trouble with the stanima there.

The three of them joined each other and faced the last couple of hollows. The bits and pieces were about to reform, but it was time to finish this. Sakura whispered a plan to both of them, and the other two acknowledged that it would have to be enough.

Sakura shot both hands together. **"Bakudou Number Four: Hainawa!" **A tendril of yellow energy shot from her hand, immediately binding the remaining hollows and the regenerating bits, almost like the net of yellow reiryoku.

Tenten, using her signature short term burst of speed, hacked the remaining dummy hollows to pieces, zigzagging with shunpo as she did. She zipped back to start, signaling Naruto's turn.

He leapt into the air, much like before, and held up both hands. **"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hadou Number Thirty-three: Soukatsui!"**

A huge blast of blue energy erupted across the entire area, looking like a mixture of blue fire and electricity as it exploded loudly on the ground. It enveloped every bit of the dummy hollow, leaving not a single piece intact and the entire area smelled of fire and almost brimstone. Tenten and Sakura braced themselves from the shock-wave, amazed at the intensity of Naruto's kidou.

Naruto popped back to his friends, breathing heavily after using so much reiryoku in such a short amount of time. He had quite a bit of endurance, but using so many spells and shunpo in a few minutes was difficult.

The three of them waited for several minutes, taking a breather and watching the area where the dummy hollows had been. There were no remains this time, nothing for the hollow to come back from, so they felt much safer.

"Let's keep patrolling," Sakura said. "I don't feel anymore hollow reiatsu in our patrol area, so we should be safe for the rest of the night. Let's just keep our eye out for any souls to perform konso."

The three of them did just that. At the end of the night, when everything was clear, they rejoined with the others in the sky at the center of the area. The other sixth-years joined Renji, Momo, and Izuru, the Senkaimon closed behind them. All the groups were praised by their individual efforts in handling the threats.

"Those threats were troublesome," Shikamaru commented, standing next to Naruto's group with his own. "What's the big idea with the SRDI? Are they trying to kill us?"

Momo laughed. "No, of course not. The duplicating dummy hollow was developed in order to test your ability to think things through. Hopefully you guys were able to do that, right?"

The first-years all nodded in agreement.

"Was anyone hurt seriously?" asked Izuru.

No one seemed to comment, because most groups had someone who was skilled with medical kidou and if something had happened, they would have been able to heal them relatively well.

"Then I guess it's time to go," Renji said, before turning to the Senkaimon. "Open!"

It slid open at the request, shining bright white light as they headed back to the Soul Society.

* * *

Naruto, Shikamaru, Sakura, Tenten, and the blonde-headed Samui quickly found a row of empty seats with a good view of the stage. Each of them were happy with their grades, having passed year one of the Spiritual Arts Academy with varying degrees of success. Every one of them managed to do average or better, and Naruto could not be more happy with his _B-._ Sakura had the best grades of their little group, Shikamaru and Tenten ended up with a B, and Samui had a B+.

Naruto was very proud of all his friends. But even more proud of Toshiro and Momo.

The graduation ceremony was a buzz of activity, murmurs and rumors had been flying through the school about the special circumstances of the graduation. Not only were six out of thirteen captains present, but everyone was surprised to learn that a freshman was graduating. In under one year. Most did not know how or why the Silver-Haired Child Genius was graduating so soon, but most were happy for him. Naruto just laughingly hoped he'd stop being a brat now, but that was likely not the case.

When the ceremony finally began, a mustached man walked up to the stage. He had the look of nobility, a white coat on top of his shihakusho and a zanpakutou at his side. Naruto thought he could be a captain, but Sakura muttered in awe, "Chojiro Sasakibe, Lieutenant of Squad One."

"Good afternoon and welcome to the 2066th graduation ceremony for the Spiritual Arts Academy!" Naruto noted that his voice sounded very commanding, very deep and unyielding. The man introduced himself before saying, "Head-Captain Yamamoto is currently busy with other affairs, but I will be taking over the ceremony. First, however, I would like to introduce you to the captains that _are_ present at this time."

He went through a list of names, each one bowing as they did. Squad Six Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, a noble who looked far too snobby for Naruto's liking. Squad Five Sosuke Aizen, a kind-looking man who took time out of his busy schedule to teach a calligraphy class. Squad Four Captain Retsu Unohana, whose kind and interesting demeanor completely unnerved everyone watching. Squad Seven Captain Sajin Komamura, a very tall, bulky man wearing a large, wooden contraption on his head that looked like a strange helmet. Squad Thirteen Captain Jushiro Ukitake, who looked a little bit pale and sickly to be out and about. And Squad Eight Captain Shunsui Kyoraku, a flamboyant man wearing a pink, flowery kimono.

Each took another bow at the end, and the students clapped and bowed back.

"Without further ado, let us begin the graduation ceremony. Would the graduating class please stand and prepare to come on stage?"

Tenten found Toshiro and the others, pointing and waving. Naruto shot him a thumbs-up, but he knew what the other boy was thinking. Kusaka should be here with him. Momo looked positively vibrant, Kira looked nervous, and Renji almost looked like he would hurl. Naruto was happy for all of them.

The lieutenant went through the names, each coming on stage and receiving a diploma before lining back up in front of the stage. Slowly but surely, Sasakibe called out, "Renji Abarai, of Squad Five!" the red-headed boy nearly tripped and fell trying to go forward, and Naruto wondered where this clumsy streak came from. He took the diploma happily and Naruto smiled at the idea of Squad Five for him.

"Izuru Kira, of Squad Five!" The blonde headed onto the stage, receiving his diploma and joining the others.

"Momo Hinamori, of Squad Five!" The girl happily accepted her diploma, ecstatic that it was Squad Five like she had wanted since she saw Aizen for the first time in her first year.

"All three of them are in Squad Five?" asked Shikamaru.

"That does seem a little bit... odd," Tenten added.

Naruto shrugged it off, but after Sakura expressed her concerns as well, he remembered the story of Hinamori's first field experience trip, much like their own. They had gotten attacked by Huge Hollows during their trip, and it was Squad Five Captain Aizen and his lieutenant Gin Ichimaru who had saved them. Naruto explained that story to the four of them.

"Maybe Aizen just wants to keep them safe?" offered Samui, brushing the blonde bangs out of her face. "Like he felt connected to them after that incident."

Shikamaru eventually just shrugged. "Eh, I'm sure that's all it is. It's not that weird, I guess, just a coincidence."

The line continued until finally, all the sixth-years had received their diplomas. Naruto and the others were so glad because Toshiro was the only one left, and he must have been feeling very out of place.

"This year, we have a special occasion that has not been done since Squad Five Lieutenant Ichimaru graduated many years ago," explained Sasakibe. "First-year Toshiro Hitsugaya, of Squad Ten!"

Naruto cheered, screaming his lungs off for his best friend. It was a special occasion, and soon, several other first-years joined in, including Shikamaru and the others. Toshiro walked up slowly, looking impossibly tiny compared to some of the other students who were graduating, and took his diploma from the Squad One Lieutenant. They bowed to each other before the boy happily joined the ranks of the graduated students.

Sasakibe and the captains stood before gesturing to the flag of the Academy. The graduates began the motto. _"Do not seek beauty in battle. Do not seek virtue in death. Do not make the mistake of considering only your own life. If you wish to protect that which you must protect... slice the enemy you must defeat from behind."_

* * *

_**How was that? I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought in a review!**_

_**I hope this also makes those of you who were afraid Naruto would be "dead-last" or humiliated again and again happy. I was never intending to repeat the canon Naruto "Never Give Up Cliché" storyline with Bleach elements, and he is a powerful shinigami; he's not a child prodigy like Toshiro, of course, but he still has the potential to be equally as powerful, if not more so in the future. Even Ichigo, arguably the most powerful character in Bleach (because of plot armor), had trouble with controlling his spirit energy and his reiatsu at first, so I feel like most of you just judged too quickly based on the reishuukaku core test.**_

_**The Academy will speed up next chapter. I haven't decided to end it at Ch. 04 or Ch. 05, but you'll know by the end of the chapter, of course. I don't want to rush it, but I don't want to bore and stretch it out unnecessarily either. **_

_**Again, let me know what you think! Thank you for all of the attention you've given it so far! **_


	4. 04: Trial and Error

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**04:  
Trial and Error**_

Naruto touched the hilt of his Asauchi. He sat down in the grass, Shikamaru only a couple of feet away from him lying on the top of the hill he had come to love so much. The lazy brunette was staring at the clouds, his sword lying across his chest.

The blonde had been trying to perform Jinzen all day, using the day off of classes to try to do something productive. The very next day was going to be another day of field training, and then next week Naruto and the other fourth-years were going to go through the Trials, a tournament-style competition. Naruto was optimistic, and pretty much every one of the fourth years were excited about it. Even Shikamaru seemed excited, but that could be feigning interest to get Naruto to shut up. At least he wasn't as bad as Samui, who could only say, "Cool," every time someone asked her about it.

Jinzen was difficult because he was not the most patient person in the world. He wished he could be more patient, but his mind was always too active to let his body calm down enough to try to connect with the spirit within. He knew it was going to have to happen, knew it would be necessary.

"It's not going to be forced, Naruto," Shikamaru began, peeking at him from the corner of his eyes. "You got to take it slow. Even Toshiro took it slow!"

"He got his shikai faster than anyone in the Academy in years. That's not slow."

Shikamaru sighed. "You don't see my point. I mean when he actually started, he sat and waited. You aren't being patient, you aren't letting it happen to you. You're trying to force it to happen."

"Oh yeah? Well, do you have your shikai?" When Shikamaru shook his head, Naruto nodded. "That's what I thought. I'm going to connect to my sword if it's the last thing I do."

"It just might be the last thing you do, Naruto," Shikamaru said. "Because you're never going to get there if you try to force your way to your shikai."

Naruto huffed, trying once more to close off all outside influences and think about Jinzen. He tried to think about the unsheathed sword laying across his crossed legs. Nothing was happening, so he tried harder.

"It's not going to work."

"Shut up. I'll get there."

The next day, the fourth-years of class two headed to the outside of the Academy's main building, meeting to discuss their mission before they actually left. The sun was high in the sky, so whatever the mission was would be in the daytime, thankfully.

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Tenten were in a three-man group, Sakura the odd one out this time. Toshiro had been in class one with Samui, who was probably busy with other projects today while they got to do field training.

The goal today was to guard a group of nobles from attack by assassins and dummy hollows, working together. They had done similar field work before, but this was the first year they were allowed to do these missions without any outside help.

Professor Takashi, still the teacher of class two even after all this time, began to outline the roles and goals for the mission. When she was finished, she let them go, opening up the Senkaimon as before. A barrier had been prepared already by the "nobles" they were protecting, who turned out to be other sixth-years who were not allowed to help or give advice.

Naruto rushed his group through the shining white gate, his own personal black and white butterfly accompanying him and then disappearing into the sky. He looked over their assigned area not too far from the center of the barrier-enclosed space, where the Senkaimon had been. The noble they were protecting was already there, pretending to be helpless.

Shikamaru gestured for them to focus on him a moment, his mind already forming a plan. "The idea is to protect our noble at all costs, right? Naruto, your Kido is our secret weapon. I want you to focus on Bakudo, while Tenten and I finish them off. If they get smart, switch up your attack method. I'll help you form a cloaking Kido around our noble."

Naruto nodded, immediately beginning to chant the incantation for a simple cloaking spell. Shikamaru joined him, speaking calmly and letting the reiryoku run through his body to enact the spell. **"Thinly veil from death's sight, all light from shadows turn away! Enshroud thyself in the masked oppression of the enemy's empty act! Bakudo Number Twenty-six: Kyokko!" **With their fingers, Naruto and Shikamaru drew an imaginary line around the noble, who was immediately surrounded by a dome of light that had the ability to hide reiatsu and appearance. The noble literally vanished from sight, with only Naruto and the genius able to see him if they focused hard enough.

They waited for several minutes, surrounding the place where the noble stood and lying in wait. Tenten was ready, her sword in her grasp and willing to fight, to taste blood. She knew her blade well, her natural ability with a sword and her connection to her zanpakuto spirit greater than any of the others in their group.

Shikamaru held up his blade, waiting and willing to fight if necessary. He was more apt to run away, use the speed he was blessed with to get out of dodge. He wished he could swap his reiryoku potency with Naruto, because if he had Naruto's vast energy pool, he'd be able to run at top speed all day. Naruto would be able to surpass him after a few dozen Shunpo if that was all they were focused on, simply because he had more energy to last him.

"Damn these guys are lazier than you, Shikamaru!" Tenten reprimanded, smirking as she kept her watch of the tree line only about twenty yards from her.

Naruto laughed. "Isn't that the truth?!"

The other boy could only roll his eyes, but before he could react, something hit the edge of his sensors. "Tenten! Twenty-five yards at four-o-clock!"

Just then, a member of the Stealth Force, wearing an all-black, ninja-like outfit that covered him from head to toe, leaped from the trees, holding his wakazashi blade in hand. Tenten braced herself, their swords clashing together before she shoved outward with her Asauchi, causing the ninja to use the pressure on the blade to jump off. He flipped in the air once, landed on his haunches, and then pounced with his speed again, trying to overpower her.

Tenten spun with a brilliant mixture of Hoho, before snapping her leg up in a move that would have made Sakura proud. The kick sent the Stealth Force member flying, but as he landed, his body evaporated into a paper-doll.

Immediately, the entire clearing burst with activity. Naruto cursed as he considered what was happening, his mind on protecting the noble from the false-assassins and the dummy hollows now surrounding them.

"Everyone, close your eyes!" He concentrated, pulling on the reiryoku within, before saying without incantation, **"Bakudo Number Twenty-one: Sekienton!" **Red smoke appeared from nowhere, billowing from his palm until all three of them were obscured from sight. It was so thick that they could barely see each other, but this gave the other two a place to maneuver.

Shikamaru seemed to realize it was now or never, and he immediately burst from the cloud in a flash of speed. Naruto could not see what was happening, but the clashing of swords was all he could hear.

Tenten stepped back another yard or so and waited. A dummy hollow that looked suspiciously like a cat pounced at her like a feline. She threw up her blade and caught its claws, cursing that it pretty much had her sword locked into position. She repeated the same Hakuda kick from earlier, knocking it off before using Shunpo and her sword at the same time, slashing the cat hollow in half.

Naruto focused on seeing through the slowly dissipating smoke, his reiatsu sensing skills his only method of knowing what was coming. He felt the three assassins coming toward him from three different angles, his eyes widening.

**"Bakudo Number Nine: Geki!" **The Kido started and took effect just as the three burst through the smoke cloud. He was proud it had worked, the paralysis spell capturing all three of them in a hue of red light that basically forced them to stand still in mid-attack.

He grinned mischievously, zigzagging toward each of them with sword slashes to the abdomen and the chest, turning them all back into paper dolls. He turned, just in time to see another one of the cat-like hollows breaking through the smoke on Shikamaru's un-guarded side. He Shunpo'ed forward, the entire hollow losing all of its right limbs before it exploded. The shockwave from the explosion finally helped to dissipate the smoke, the red cloud vanishing.

Tenten was locked in combat with two assassins. Shikamaru was busy trapped in between three cat hollows and an assassin, nearly pinned against a tree; a wound was obvious on his side, shocking Naruto, who had no expertise with healing Kido.

"Shikamaru! Clear out!" He took his zanpakutou, placed it horizontally, and began to chant. **"Ye Lord! Creator of flesh and blood, lash out against the foundations of power! Destroy the basis of the eternal fight to survive! Crush the denizens of the dark with your all-consuming light! Hado Number Thirty-Two: Okasen!" **Bright yellow light extended along the length of his blade before firing in a wide, crescent-like arc of energy. Shikamaru only barely got out of the way in time before the blast hit the area, cutting through several trees before finally dissipating. There were no enemies left.

He twisted in the air, sensing something approaching the noble. A still wounded Shikamaru and Naruto flashed toward the hollow, arriving at the same time with enough time to block the cat from slashing through the cloaked-dome and revealing the noble's presence. Naruto tackled forward with his shoulder, shoving the hollow away from it before Shikamaru slashed downward, cutting though the hollow's mask like butter. Yet another exploded.

Tenten finally shoved with her upper body, catching the two Stealth Force wannabes off-guard. She then parried one strike, Shunpo'ed to the right, and slashed off the arm of the doll. She then repeated the maneuver, this time going to the left and cutting a large chunk of the assassin's side, returning it to the slip of paper it used to be.

The three celebrated having defeated all the enemies nearby. But Naruto caught some kind of reiatsu on his radar, and it was... different than anything he had felt before. Familiar, but... unique.

"I'll be back in a second!" He dashed towards it, leaving the wounded Shikamaru and Tenten more than a little confused. The strange presence was getting closer, probably just behind that ridge. He Shunpo'ed toward the source, popping around the cliff and hoping to find something.

It was gone. Just like that. Nothing. He frowned, wondering if he had just imagined the whole thing. He looked for clues for a moment, trying to feel for any residual reiatsu. He picked up a torn piece of cloth, the fabric obviously made of reishi and the same color as the black shihakusho that shinigami wore. He thought for a long moment before stashing it in his pocket and heading back to Tenten and Shikamaru, hoping to explain it to them and let them figure it out.

He did not know he was being watched. "Weird Academy kid felt me? Surprising." The stranger disappeared, thumbing the ripped portion of his shihakusho.

* * *

Preparing for the fourth-year Trials was on everyone's minds. Shikamaru was the only one who didn't seem to care, but Naruto knew he did deep down. Samui had been going over strategies and trying to analyze how it would all work out. Tenten had been trying harder and harder to connect to her zanpakuto, thinking that it might give her an edge. Sakura was practicing nonstop on her Hakuda, while studying Kido when she could. Naruto had been trying way too hard to mimic all of his friends' strategies, and it was dragging him down.

He wished he could contact Momo or even Toshiro, even though the latter never got to do any kind of trials, to give him some advice. However, both of them were likely far too busy with their squads to worry about him. He very much wanted to go and find the Squad Five barracks and see if she was available to speak, but the Seireitei did not take kindly to Academy students wandering the city. The guards, usually from Squad Nine, did not allow the students to travel within a certain number of yards away from the Academy, not wanting them to be roaming around in case they were spies.

It sounded like hogwash to Naruto. Who would spy on the Seireitei? Hollows were not sophisticated like that, and Hell was busy with their own affairs. Who else could possibly be there to do that?

That reminded him of the reiatsu signature he had found a few days ago, and the fabric piece to show for it. Something about it had been strange, too strange to forget about it. He reached into his pocket and studied the piece of shihakusho fabric, still wanting to know what it was. None of his friends had any ideas, but both Shikamaru and Sakura claimed they would think about it.

He stood up and looked through his Kido textbook, suddenly getting a good idea that might work. He flipped to the page, hoping to find that one spell he had seen before. It was an advanced spell, probably something that an Academy student should not try, but he was confident.

He placed the piece of fabric on the desk, placing his hands around it in the hopes that the spell might be able to find any kind of residual spiritual pressure. **"Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the rain. Bakudo Number Fifty-eight: Kakushitsuijaku!" **As he chanted, he drew a circular diagram of kanji around the fabric in ink.

Immediately, the diagram and the area around it began to glow with white-blue light. He felt his spiritual senses increase, so much reiatsu flooding into his mind and being found and located. He concentrated on the fabric, his brow furrowing in the effort, but no matter where he looked, the fabric was unknown.

The spell faded, taking the ink with it. He knew the spell had worked, but he had found nothing. He had seen that particular Kido demonstrated in class late in the year last year, and they had combined it with another Kido so that everyone in the class could visualize the Reiraku, or spirit ribbons. Naruto could not find any ribbons that matched up to the tiny bit of reishi on the fabric.

"Well, that was a bust," he muttered, upset. "I should probably do what Samui suggested and explain it to the Academy."

He put the shihakusho fabric in his pocket, deciding to head to the main office and give it to whomever he needed to. They would ship it to the SRDI or the Kido Corps to be analyzed, and then hopefully, the right people could find the source of the shihakusho.

The secretary took it from him, giving him the strangest look. "Where did you find this?" the squat woman asked.

"In the World of the Living, during our field training last week," he explained, telling the woman about using Kido to try to track it. "I was hoping that the source would have come back to the Soul Society, because it was obviously torn off of a shihakusho, but I couldn't find anything."

She nodded, rubbing it with her fingers. "I'll have it sent to the SRDI. They can use their scanners there to track it, even between worlds. What was it about the situation that worried you?"

Naruto stopped to think for a moment. "I don't know, really. The reiatsu felt... felt malicious. Like... evil. I don't understand it really."

"Like a hollow?"

"No. Not like a hollow either. It's hard to describe unless you were there."

The secretary nodded. "Okay, I'll take care of it. Thank you!"

Naruto nodded, heading out of the room to hopefully get some more Jinzen in. He wished he had more time to prepare, but the Trials started tomorrow, and there was too much on the line already.

* * *

Toshiro looked up from his paperwork as someone came in, heading toward the captain's office. Toshiro stood from his desk, intercepting the newcomer, a messenger who seemed to be a little bit tired.

"Hello, can I help you?"

The messenger bowed to him. "Sixth Seat Hitsugaya." He brought out his parcel, wary though to hand it to him. "I was tasked to deliver this to Captai-"

"I'll take care of it," he explained, taking the parcel from him. "What is it anyway?"

"A fourth-year Academy student found this piece of a shihakusho and an odd reiatsu signature. The Academy sent it to the SRDI first, but Captain Kurotsuchi did not want anything to do with it, as the SRDI is busy investigating the recent murders of several Rukongai citizens. Squad 10 was the place he suggested, so I was going to bring it to the captain."

Toshiro nodded, his mind on Naruto and his other friends when he heard that it was related to a fourth-year. Had one of them found this? "Thank you very much. I'll have the squad look it over."

The messenger nodded, disappearing in a dash of Shunpo.

Toshiro opened the parcel and took out the piece of fabric. It didn't seem to be anything special, but he knew it might be worth looking into. He took it back to his office and prepared the paperwork report, obviously needing that to be done before he could move to figure anything out. He closed his eyes and tried to trace the Reiraku around it, but nothing happened. That was frustrating.

He pondered the recent murders, not knowing much about them due to his lower rank, but rumors spread like wildfire. Could these two incidents be related? The murders happened months ago, but they could not find the perpetrators. Had someone from the Academy stumbled upon the culprit? And if so, does the fact that this was a shihakusho imply that the culprit was a shinigami as well?

Toshiro shuddered at the thought.

* * *

Naruto finally arrived at the site of the Trials, a huge combat course set up to test each of the four combat disciplines, or Zankensoki. The arena was huge, dotted with large boulders and trees. Several large sets of audience stands surrounded the area, elevated so that they could all witness the fights without being in the line of fire. Several robed Kido Corps members were present, having constructed barriers to guard the stands in case of a stray spell.

The fourth-year Trials were a huge deal, and there was usually a representative from each of the three branches of the military that the Spiritual Arts Academy fed, as well as Squad Four's medical presence. The blonde-haired shinigami-in-training could not tell where any of them were by looking through the fenced-in "dugout" area for the combatants. The dugout was located at one corner of the entire arena, so not a good angle to see all the audience stands.

People filed in, many of them students from the Academy and nobles who were probably related to kids in both class one and class two. Naruto had been to one of the Trials before, and it was one of the most exciting things he had ever witnessed. Now he was here, about to fight in it.

"Excited?" asked Tenten, joining him next to the fence and looking out over the busy crowd.

He nodded. "Yeah. I really am."

"Me too," she said with a grin. "I have a feeling you're going to need me to wish you luck, so good luck!"

He smiled. "You too."

The teacher of class one, Gengoro Ounabara, headed up to the front of the large room, getting everyone to settle down. Naruto and Tenten found a seat near the others. There were probably nearly two hundred kids ready to participate in this week-long event.

"Settle down, settle down," the man began, scanning the crowd. "I'm sure you already know, but just so that everyone is on the same page, let me go over the format of the week's events. Today is the preliminary phase. Tomorrow is round one, Wednesday is Round Two and the Quarter Finals, and Thursday will be both the Semi Finals and the Finals.

"But in today's preliminary, each of you will need to go out there and demonstrate each of the four Zankensoki, and the judges will grade your performance. If you are above the standards we have set prior to the start of the Trials, you will move to the next round, a sixty-four-participant tournament. For those of you that struggle in a certain area of the Zankensoki, you can make up for your score in another area. But if you are too low in more than one area, you will most likely not be able to hit the minimum number of points that you need to succeed. Does anyone have any questions?"

No one spoke up, everyone seemingly understanding. Shikamaru turned to his friends and whispered, "They probably have the standard set high in order to get to sixty-four fairly."

Sakura nodded. "That makes the most sense. I don't remember what the score you had to get to was last year, but over sixty percent did not pass the preliminaries."

"Well, no pressure then," Samui said. "Cool."

* * *

Naruto stepped out onto the field, his turn for the preliminaries. There were about fifteen other students on the field at the same time, each turned in ways so that they would not interfere with one another at all.

His mind was still grappling with the fact that all of his friends did so well. Shikamaru's skill with Hoho was almost unmatched, but Naruto found more and more lately that he had come very close to bridging the divide in terms of speed with him. Sakura had given a wonderful display of Hakuda and Kido, destroying all the targets relatively easily. Tenten showed a lot of skill with Hoho and her Zanjutsu, which was really her greatest asset. Samui had not competed yet, but he was certain that her Zanjutsu, her Hakuda, and her Hoho would be her best.

Naruto wanted to do well, so he put any form of nervousness or hesitation at the back of his mind. He found his place on the field, preparing to compete. The judges were watching, grading each performance.

He signaled that he was ready, and the targets appeared on the field: several steel training poles, several straw training dolls, and lots of long-range wooden targets. He knew his Kido was one of his strongest disciplines, so he decided to save that for last.

He gathered reishi around his feet and blasted forward, pouring as much speed as he could into his step. He slashed at one of the steel poles, making a loud noise that was sure to attract attention. He spun in the middle of one step and brought his sword down, immediately bifurcating the straw dummy and leaving it in shambles. As the head of the straw dummy was about to hit the ground, in a blaze of speed, he chopped the head to pieces. All before it could touch the ground.

He put his sword away and used Shunpo again, hitting a punching bag with a series of well-placed kicks and punches. He knew it didn't have the power and finesse it needed to have, but he continued his Hakuda barrage until he hoped it was enough.

He turned to the targets with another dash of speed, his lips forming the incantation for a combination that Momo had taught him. **"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudo Number Nine: Horin!" **As he chanted, an orange and yellow energy thread appeared. He flicked his wrist toward the targets, entrapping each of them with expert guidance until all of the wooden targets were connected to his hand like some kind of web of Kido.

Without the incantation, he shouted, **"Hado Number Eleven: Tsuzuri Raiden!" **Instantly, a current of flickering yellow electricity channeled through the **Horin** thread, destroying each of the wooden targets at the same exact moment. He dissipated the Kido thread as he was finished.

He bowed to the judges, wishing that they would just give him his results now and let him know if he got to go on to the next round. Despite the fact that that wasn't how it worked, the judges seemed pleased.

* * *

Later that night, Naruto and his friends visited the tiny restaurant near the Academy, where they often met up to celebrate and just have a good time. It was called the Wandering Sage, and it had such a nice atmosphere that they always felt at home.

They were celebrating tonight because all five of them passed through the preliminaries with flying colors.

"I wish we knew our individual scores," Sakura said, curious. "I'll bet we were all close."

Tenten shook her head. "Well, everyone except Naruto."

His eyes widened as everyone laughed at his expense. "Hey! What was that for?!"

Shikamaru snickered. "Come on, Naruto. She meant that you were better than all of us."

"Better than all of you?"

Sakura nodded, understanding their train of thought. "You were well-balanced. On that type of scoring system, you were able to get more points and a good score overall, because your above average on three out of four, and your Hakuda wasn't bad."

"The rest of us have more stuff limiting us," Tenten explained, agreeing with Sakura.

He considered it a moment. "Hmm. I never thought of it like that."

Just then, someone ran up behind him and hugged him around the neck. "Narunaru!" When he realized it was Hinamori, he laughed and turned around, hugging her back.

"Momo, what are you doing here?" he asked, moving over to let her have a seat.

She grinned. "I thought you might be here. The Trials are this week, right?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, we all passed the preliminaries."

She smiled brightly. "I knew you guys would! That's awesome!"

"What have you been up to, Momo?" asked Naruto.

The Squad Five Eighth Seat considered it a moment. "Well, I have been swamped with paperwork. Ever since those murders, Squad Fiv-"

"Murders?" asked Samui, shocked. "Not cool."

"A couple of months ago, a few low-ranked and unseated shinigami of multiple squads disappeared," explained Hinamori grimly. "We found them spread across several jurisdictions in the World of the Living, along with several normal souls."

Shikamaru was surprised. "A coordinated Hollow attack?"

Momo shook her head. "No. It was... someone with a blade. And unusually, their bodies were completely drained of reiryoku."

The surprise was evident on everyone's faces. Naruto thought back to the last trip they took for field training. "Guys, do you think this could be related to that weird reiatsu signature?" Shikamaru pondered it a moment, and Tenten could only shrug with a frown on her face.

"What weird reiatsu signature?"

Naruto explained his story about trying to locate it, finding the piece of shihakusho, and then trying to trace it. "When I couldn't find anything, I took it to the office and they said they would send it to the SRDI."

Momo considered it a moment. "No, that wouldn't work. Captain Kurotsuchi probably wouldn't think it worth investigating, just because it came from an Academy student. I can't predict how he might think, but he probably sent it to either Squad Thirteen or Squad Ten."

"Maybe you could ask To- I mean, Sixth Seat Hitsugaya," Sakura suggested. "If they found anything from it that might point to the murderer, he might know about it."

"That's assuming that Squad Ten got it at all, but I could ask Rukia as well," said Hinamori, more to herself than the others.

"Who's Rukia?" asked Samui.

Momo laughed. "Oh, I guess you guys never got to meet her. She would have graduated in my year, but she got to graduate from the Academy early because she was adopted by the Kuchiki family."

"Kuchiki?" asked Sakura, almost stunned. "They're one of the Four Great Noble Houses!"

Hinamori nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of a big deal. Anyway, she's in Squad Thirteen, and we're still good friends. I wish I had more time to visit my friends, but Captain Aizen keeps me so busy..." She trailed off, frowning.

"Is there anything we can do to help you with the investigation?" asked Tenten. "I'm sure that we could do something."

Momo shook her head quickly, before lowering her voice. "No, I probably would get into trouble for speaking to you at all about it actually!" She laughed nervously. "No, what would help me is if you guys keep up the good work and graduate, all right? Just concentrate on your grades and these Trials."

The five students nodded, a little disappointed they couldn't help. "Speaking of the Trials again," Shikamaru began, "you wouldn't happen to have any advice, would you?"

Momo laughed. "Yeah, of course. I got to the quarter-finals in my year, and Renji and Izuru finished in the semi-finals. Is there anything you want to know specifically?"

"The next part of the tournament is basically one big tournament-style fight, right?" asked Naruto. The young shinigami nodded. "Is there anything in particular you would recommend we do in a fight? Like, anything unusual that may help you do better?"

Momo considered it for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah, of course. Remember your training in class and don't be afraid to step out of the rigidity of the fighting styles they've taught to you. Make your fights your own. Be more clever than your opponent, and you have a better chance of winning."

* * *

With the bracket decided, Naruto studied his place in the first block, realizing that if he had to win three in order to face any of his friends, the first one being Sakura if she won all her matches.

Tenten and Shikamaru were on the opposite side of the bracket, isolated enough that they would face each other in the semi-finals if they squared off. Samui was in a corner bracket all to herself, but Naruto would face her in the semi-finals if she won all of her matches.

"Welcome to the Tournament Round of the Year Four Trials!" shouted a voice, which turned out to be Professor Takashi. "Round one will take place today, and will include all the first match ups. The goal to win is to fight until your opponent is unconscious or surrenders, or until the judge declares the fight over in order to save a life. It's an all-out brawl, and we have medical staff from Squad Four and the Kido Corps here in the rare chance severe wounds are dealt. We pride ourselves that no one has died in over twenty years, so good luck to each and every one of you!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Twenty years? That didn't sound like a long time...

"All right, would our first combatants come forward to fight? Temari, from class one! And Daisuke Nakamura, from class two!"

Naruto watched as the first two opponents stepped into the arena. The first was a black-haired boy with a snide expression and almost toad-like features. The other was also in class one, a blonde girl whose hair was essentially pulled up in four pigtails.

Temari and Daisuke bowed to each other, right before the announcer shouted, "Begin!"

The boy wasted no time, rushed toward her, and drew his blade. Not using Shunpo turned out to be his biggest mistake. The girl smirked, flashing out of sight.

The boy collapsed completely, blood shooting from a gash in his abdomen.

The blonde girl stopped, sheathing her blade.

The fight was over in literally under a minute, and Naruto had never imagined it would be that quick, that fast.

"And the winner is Temari, from class one!" People cheered for her, and Naruto could only look in awe at his friends, who were just as surprised. This Temari girl was strong, and close enough to Naruto that he would face her in Round Three.

The next two fights lasted a bit longer, but they were both finished soon enough. One boy had been very good at Hakuda, but no other standout traits. And then it was Naruto's turn.

"Naruto, from class two! And Shiro Gintama, from class two!"He was fighting against a skinny, tall boy with brown hair. The boy was someone Naruto had probably not said more than two words to in his Academy experience. Naruto was scared, wondering just how good he was, if he was good at all.

"Begin!"

Naruto did not make the mistake the boy made in the first fight. He used Shunpo to dash to the right, just in time to dodge the boy's super-fast strike. He turned and shouted, **"Bakudo Number One: Sai!" **

The boy stopped in his tracks, the Kido forcing him to his knees with his hands behind his back. His opponent struggled, trying to break free, but he increased the energy in the spell.

Naruto walked toward him, keeping his sword in hand in case the boy broke free. When he realized that the boy couldn't overpower it, he grasped the pressure point at the base of the neck, forcing the boy to fall over unconscious.

Naruto sheathed his blade and the fight was called for him, some cheering him on. He lifted the boy and carried him to the medical team, before heading to the dugout.

"Wow, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed.

"It's not that big of a deal," he muttered. "He just... wasn't good. He should have used his reiatsu to counter the spell."

"Well, it doesn't matter very much now," Samui said. "You were really cool out there."

"Thanks, Samui."

Naruto waited patiently, resting a bit as he watched the next two fights. When they were finished, he realized Sakura was up next.

The pink-haired girl gulped, before heading out onto the field. It was her time to shine, Naruto knew, and he hoped it went well for her.

The announcer called out both the fighters names, Sakura Haruno versus a slightly overweight girl with twin braids on both sides of her face. The two girls looked ready to fight, and Sakura's opponent drew her blade.

"Begin!"

Naruto watched in awe as Sakura did not even draw her sword, running toward the girl instead with her fists outstretched. Sakura shot up a knee, impacting on the girl's stomach and forcing her to double over, her sword hanging limply at her side. Sakura then forced an elbow in-between her opponent's shoulder blades, knocking her to the ground in a heap.

The bigger girl, however, was not about to be outdone. She shot up to her feet in a surprisingly quick manner, ignoring the pain she was obviously feeling and slashing at Sakura's exposed shoulder.

**"Bakudo Number Eight: Seki!" **

A shining blue orb of light appeared, blocking the sword strike to the shock of the opponent. As the Kido dissipated, the opponent began to chant the incantation for Shakkaho, but Sakura shook her head. She grabbed the girl's shoulder, channeled reiryoku into her hand, and yanked the girl toward her as hard as she could, before Shunpo-ing to the left out of the way. The opponent crashed into the boulder behind where Sakura had been standing, her body slacking against it and her Asauchi skittering across the rocks.

The girl was obviously unconscious now, her body limp. The match was over, with Sakura as the obvious winner, but Sakura walked over to the girl she had just defeated. She held her hands over the girl's worst wound, a large bruised area on the back of her head that might have induced a concussion if she was not careful. She began an incantation, her hands glowing with blue-green reiryoku as she tried to heal the worst of the wound.

The girl's eyes fluttered open after a few moments, and Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled. "Sorry for being so rough. You're going to be just fine now."

Sakura weakly returned to the dugout as the medical team collected the girl. Sakura had expended quite a bit of reiryoku during the healing process and felt the sting of exhaustion that often accompanied it for a few minutes after using it. Healing Kido was something that took quite a bit of control, and while she had the right mindset for it, it took a lot out of her without preparation like that.

All of her friends were glad to see her, shocked at her display and even more shocked that she had healed her enemy. "It's just the human thing to do."

"We're not human."

"Ah, shut up," Sakura muttered, laughing at Shikamaru's deadpan sarcasm.

"The manhandling you just did was not human!" Tenten said with a grin. "That was just awesome!"

Naruto laughed. "I have to agree with Tenten there."

The matches continued, with everyone watching the opponents for anything that was worthy of remembering about a potential opponent. Naruto had his mind on how to beat someone like Temari, who had defeated her opponent in one fell-swoop. Sakura was someone to be scared of, and he had never really seen Samui in action because she was in class one. He didn't know her skill-set as well as he should.

Nevertheless, her match came up next among Naruto's friends, and she approached the battle with a cool, easy-going demeanor. She was much too confident to let something as trivial as losing worry her, at least at this stage.

"Samui, from class one, and Airi Hamasaki, also from class one!" Airi was a brunette girl with an obscene amount of make-up on and her hair dolled up in a stylish bun. She was also the first person Naruto had ever seen that basically changed the uniform to fit her needs, other than Naruto's white and orange headband that Ame had made for him. Her white kosode was tainted with pink cords, and her red hakama almost looked like it was too tight for her to move.

Samui looked at the girl with complete ridicule, wondering what the girl was thinking dressing like a common slut. "Definitely not cool," she muttered under her breath.

"Begin!"

Samui waited, letting the battle happen to her for a moment. She would react, of course, but she needed to test the girl's abilities for a moment.

The girl drew her sword, her zanpakutou hilt completely pink in a way that made Samui wonder if the girl had achieved Shikai. If that was the case, Samui had to react because she didn't know if she wanted to deal with that.

The blonde poured reiatsu into her joints, leaping into the air above the girl in one motion. She spun in mid-air, before pushing off the air and into a dive, her angle directly toward the girl. She immediately drew her Asauchi and let gravity do the rest, hoping to catch the girl on the shoulder of her sword arm and leave her momentarily offenseless.

But to her surprise, Airi caught her blade with the edge of her sword, spinning the steel in a circle so fast that Samui's Asauchi was knocked out of her hand in the split second of their swords clashing together. She threw up her hands in a cross over her face, but Airi slashed at her abdomen, dealing a minor cut before Samui could dash backwards, pushing her entire body off of the air with reiryoku.

She landed on her toes, skidding across the ground and kicking up dirt before coming to a flat-footed stop. She cursed the fact that her sword was still several yards away, and if this girl could Shunpo in that dress, there was no telling what could happen in the next moment. She began to chant, not good enough to guide the Kido without the chant and definitely not good enough to hold this girl down.

**"Bakudo Number Four: Hainawa!" **She cast the spell, shooting a weak line of yellow light at her sword, wrapping it around the blade, and tugging. Airi tried to react, reached out to grab the sword before Samui could retrieve it. The brunette even made a last ditch effort to swing her sword and cut through the line of Kido, but it was not enough.

Samui yanked it, retrieved it, and then used Shunpo to burst herself forward, swinging her sword in a downwards arc. She almost smiled to herself when the sword caught the girl on the hip, drawing blood.

Airi screamed, something about messing up her clothes, and surrendering. Samui considered it a moment, before putting her sword back on her back and shrugging mentally. The announcer declared her the winner, and Airi headed toward the medical booth, holding her side.

"Samui, that was epic!" Naruto said, beaming. "You're tough as nails, and that Kido was sick!"

"I just wish I could do that kind of stuff on the enemy," she said, proud of herself for what she _could_ do. "I'm lucky I walked away without a scratch."

"Why are you all so self-deprecating?" asked Shikamaru, sighing as though he was exhausted. "You guys are trying to downplay what you're good at. Stop it, it's troublesome to have to listen to every time one of us walks out of a match."

Naruto laughed. "Geez, Shikamaru, calm down."

"Yeah, we're all lucky we walked away without more a scratch," Sakura explained, leaning over and applying healing Kido to Samui's only cut, a minor wound on her stomach. "These matches could go either way."

Shikamaru just shook his head, not convinced at all. Truth was, he had pretty much looked several steps ahead at the start of each match his friends were involved in, remembering their skills during the preliminary and using that information to think, to plan. He already had a list of possibilities for his first opponent. He smiled at the possibility of food, hoping to get a good meal so he'll have plenty of energy to win.

After Samui's match, there were not really many more notable matches, other than the one that literally ended in a draw, with both fighters knocking each other unconscious in the same moment, a dual Hakuda showdown. It had been decreed that both were eliminated, giving the next fight a chance to have a bit of reprieve.

And with that, lunch.

* * *

They headed toward the large pavilion that had been set up, each enjoying the fresh, open air with their food. Samui, Naruto, and Sakura were famished, each eating to restore themselves to their former glory. Shikamaru and Tenten did manage to eat foods with good fiber and reiryoku quality.

"You two ready for your matches?" asked Sakura, genuinely curious.

Tenten proudly smacked her hand on the table, fiercely showing that she was not scared. "I'm completely ready."

"Me too," Shikamaru said. "I wish I didn't have to fight, actually, but I can't help but continue. I feel like this has my grade on the line, you know?"

Naruto nodded, understanding where the boy was coming from. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm sure Takashi will have to give us a good grade if we do extremely well, and I want to win it all!"

Tenten glared at him, and Shikamaru smirked. "Looks like you'll have to get in line."

They sat and ate for several more minutes, but Naruto noticed that everything started to get quiet in the pavilion, the hungry participants suddenly stopping all activity. A few of the rows near the front of the structure got up, prompting everyone else to stand by default. Naruto was confused, not having figured out what was happening until Sakura yanked him up by the collar of his shirt.

Everyone was stark quiet, as the two figures that were approaching finally arrived. Naruto's eyes bugged out when he realized whom it was: Squad 4 Captain Retsu Unohana and Squad 4 Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu.

"No need for formalities," the woman said with an air of authority that made everyone, including Naruto, scramble to get back into their seat. Even though they were all back sitting, they still did not turn back to their meals, staring at the captain and her lieutenant like they were completely alien.

_"What is she doing here? A medical update?"_ was the question on everyone's minds, her presence shocking even the most solid of personalities.

Tenten's eyes grew wider and wider when she realized that the woman was approaching their table, apparently the first to recognize that fact. She wanted to whisper to warn them, but she was too... speechless and nervous to speak.

When Captain Unohana, one of the most regal and noble figures in all of the Seireitei, stopped at their table, Naruto could almost feel the nobles pressing their eyes on their heads. _"What was she doing approaching class two trash?" _was probably what they were thinking.

"Forgive me for intruding on your meal," Captain Unohana began, her eyes meeting the green eyes of Sakura. The pink-haired shinigami-in-training shook her head as if to say, "No, you're not intruding." No one dared speak though, for they may say something they will regret later.

"I was so astounded by something that I witnessed today that I had to come and find you to thank you," the woman said, her smile penetrating. "Your efforts to save the girl you had just defeated displayed one of the most admirable qualities that any shinigami can possess, no matter the Squad. Your quick thinking and total respect for the girl you had defeated allowed her to escape your bout without a concussion. Thanks to you, this young girl will be able to sleep tonight without any complications, maybe even in her own bed." She paused a moment, letting Sakura's blushing and gushing go down.

"Thank you so much, Captain Unohana!" the pink haired girl cried. "I'm glad that the girl is okay."

She gave Sakura another smile before turning to Samui and Naruto, the other two people on the table who had fought in the earlier fights. "You also both did well. You caught my eye, Naruto, when you performed that combination Kido during the preliminaries, and I do not expect anything less of you from here on out. And Samui, your expert fighting finesse should be complimented, but you need to work on your Zanjutsu a bit more. You both have a lot of room to improve, and I look forward to watching the rest of your battles unfold." She turned to the other two members of the table, before addressing everyone in the pavilion. "Good luck with the rest of your fights today, and be sure to fight to the best of your ability!"

Captain Unohana and her silent lieutenant Kotetsu walked out of the pavilion in a silence that was so loud you could hear a pin drop.

"Cool," Samui muttered, a smile on her face.

Shikamaru cursed as soon as the surprise died down. "That woman is devious."

"Devious?" asked Sakura, almost in outrage at Shikamaru. "How dare you think she is devious!?"

"Yeah, Shikamaru, what are you getting at?" asked Naruto.

"Look at all the stares, you guys," he nearly whispered. "She's painted a target on our backs with this little visit."

Naruto finally noticed the looks that everyone around them were giving the entire table. The nobles had such distaste on their faces that he wondered if those expressions were even legal.

"The nobles are pissed," Tenten said halfheartedly, upset now after that uplifting and inspiring visit. "Great. We'll have pretty much the majority of class one trying to destroy us."

Shikamaru nodded. "That woman has either done this out of pure ignorance to how it would affect the others or she wanted everyone to feel like rioting against us, probably to make things more exciting."

"Great," Naruto mumbled. "Just great.

"But she could have just done this to make us feel better, to give us a reason to win," Sakura suggested, not wanting to see the negative side to what Unohana had just done.

"Maybe," Shikamaru considered it. "But I doubt it."

* * *

Tenten headed out onto the field, which had already been transformed an interesting degree thanks to explosive Hado and impressive sword bouts. She thought over her strategy and wondered if she would have to use it. Knowing how fast the fights so far had been, she figured that she would be fine if she won, and that there would be a good time for it later.

Her opponent was a tall, largely built woman who looked like she was in her early thirties, which was no unusual but also not common. Her name was Murasaki Ito, and she was from class one.

"I bet you think you're so special," the girl commented, spitting at the ground and running a quick hand through her curly black hair. "Is that what you think? That you're entitled to be good now?"

Tenten thought about it a moment. "No. I'm good because I work for it, not because a Captain addressed my friends directly." She stopped to think, before adding, "Do you think you're entitled to be good because you're in class one?"

The woman cursed at her, just as the announcer told them to begin.

Tenten ran forward, deciding not to display Shunpo in the hopes that it might surprise her enemy. However, the enemy did not either, and the two of them met in the middle of the arena with a clash that literally shaped the landscape, cutting through a huge rock like it was nothing.

The young girl growled at the woman, pushing onto the blade with her sword and hoping to overpower her. Her reiatsu began to fluctuate against her will, forcing her to grit her teeth as he hands began to split apart at the seams.

She did not let go of the assault, pushing her blade forward once more and trying to solidify her reiatsu once more.

The woman tired of that, pushing off in a short burst of speed before calling out for a spell. The chant of Hainawa was only clear because of Naruto's frequent practice of it, and she cursed and used her top speed.

In that instant, everything in the world slowed down, and she popped off of several boulders, helping her trajectory as the opponent continued to chant, but in slow motion. She refused to get caught in that Kido.

She popped behind the woman, immediately allowing her sword to bite the flesh of the woman's lower back. She then twisted and kicked the wounded body into the sky, where she arced back down a few yards away, stunned at this turn of events.

In another, slower burst of speed, she flashed forward and knocked the blade from the opponent's hands, and then placed her sword tip against the neck of her opponent.

"Give up, or I'll make you give up."

The class one snob looked like she might argue with her, but Tenten forced the blade closer, actually allowing it to nick the skin of the woman's throat.

The woman caved, uneasily surrendering with a cursed frown.

* * *

Shikamaru stepped onto the arena, already knowing that his opponent was a guy from class one whose primary skill was Zanjutsu, secondary skill his Hoho. The announcer called out their names, and everyone was enraptured with excitement. The crowd had already heard of Captain Unohana's visit with Sakura Haruno, the girl who had performed medical Kido on her beaten opponent.

Naruto could not wait to see Shikamaru clean this idiot's clock.

"Begin!"

The class one student zipped toward Shikamaru, bouncing off of the boulders as he did, forming an almost triangle-like pattern around Shikamaru, who was not in a good position. The genius considered his options for a split second, before vanishing in a bit of Shunpo, the opponent not able to intercept him in the middle of the flash step.

Shikamaru watched from the trees, concealing his spiritual pressure and watching the idiot search for him. His white kosode was not even partially good camouflage, but he did not want to spoil his location by performing a concealing Bakudo.

He took a deep breath, his mind still watching the confused noble look around for him. He likely had only a few seconds to think, so he drew out several scenarios and drew his blade quietly from its holster on his back.

He took a deep breath, finding a break in the leaves and staring at it for a moment, finding the line of the sunlight with it. He traced it, thinking it to be a good match, and waited.

The noble jock from class one noticed him, and then shot forward with a Hoho-enhanced jump. Shikamaru twisted his outstretched sword, immediately catching the sunlight and shining it directly in the opponent's face. The jock was so blinded by the light in that moment that he lost track of where he was going, smacking into the trunk of a tree hard enough that it might have cracked a rib.

The crowd silenced, surprised completely by what just happened.

"Hmm. That actually worked."

He dropped to the ground, standing only a foot away from him as he began to chant. **"Stop in the name of your god, kneel eternally at the feet of justice. Bind your hands in a fearful, never-ending prayer! Respect the authority of omnipotence! Bakudou Number One: Sai!"**

He was surprised that he was even able to chant the entire incantation, which immediately forced the man's hands behind his back, leaving the noble unable to move from his spot. He only had a few seconds to do it, so he kicked the man lightly in the face, being a bit rougher than Naruto had been earlier, when fighting his opponent.

The noble shot to the side, his body and mind entering unconsciousness. Shikamaru took a deep breath, taking in the moment and dropping to the base of the tree. The announcer called the match for him, but he didn't bother to get up right away. He took another moment, before Shunpo-ing back to the dugout.

Most of the students there had never seen anything like what he did, ingeniously reflecting the bright sunlight to blind his opponent. It was brilliant, literally brilliant.

"Shikamaru, did you cheat somehow?" asked Naruto, not entirely sure what had happened. "And way to copy my move from earlier, you asshole."

The genius rolled his eyes. "No, I didn't cheat or copy your moves. I used what resources were with me in a strategy that worked for me, all right?"

"Well, that was incredibly amazing," Sakura said with praise. "If you don't get some recognition for that from some kind of Captain like I did, let me be the first to tell you that it was amazing. That's practically like Unohana saying it herself."

Tenten laughed. "Sakura, don't let that go to your head."

"What do you mean? I can't help that Unohana noticed my skills."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes again. "Seriously, cut the ego act."

Sakura frowned, but it was more at herself than the others. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Won't happen again."

Naruto patted his roommate on the shoulder. "You said earlier that the captain's visit made us a target, right?"

"Right."

"Well, someone from class two just humiliated a noble from class one. And the person who did it was one of the people at the table that Unohana had personally visited," Naruto explained. "You've just pissed the rest of them off. Talk about a target now."

"Not to mention Tenten's performance from earlier," Samui said, turning to the brunette. "You forced someone from class one to surrender. Like I did, but I'm _from_ class one. If you guys have done anything today, it's that you've made yourself noteworthy. Any nobles or advanced class students you face from now on are going to be hard as hell on you. It's not going to be cool."

Naruto wondered if it was really as bad as they thought it was. He thought it might all be exaggerated, in a way, to make a point.

But then he remembered Temari, the blonde girl from the advanced class who literally defeated her opponent in one move.

Assuming they both moved through the next round, Naruto would have to fight her.

* * *

**I know it might not have been **_**extremely**_** exciting because they were fighting against fodder characters, but there's some other bits and pieces to this chapter that are important. Next chapter will feature the end of the tournament, and possibly graduation, but I'm not sure I want to rush it just yet. Sorry for those of you who are waiting for that to happen, but it'll be over relatively soon. In my original outline, I actually planned for him to graduate in Ch. 06, but that's at the **_**latest.**_

**Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Thank you to all of the attention again, I could not be grateful enough! Leave me a review to tell me what you think!**


	5. 05: Reaching New Heights

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**05:  
Reaching New Heights**_

_In a daze, he opened his eyes, a blurry landscape stretched before him. He could see what he suspected were trees, probably a large forest, but everything was just an unintelligible mix of greens and browns. If he focused hard enough, he could see a mixture of leaves, but trying to focus on discerning any details was almost painful and disorienting. _

_But then, she appeared, as though emblazoned in orange light. A tall red-headed woman wearing a billowing white kimono embroidered with kanji that was too indiscernible to read. There were splotches of orange on the cuffs and ends of the kimono, and in her hand was something he couldn't see. Her hair was literally the color red, draped over her shoulders, and her petite face, pale skin, and bright blue eyes were simply the most beautiful he had ever seen. Interestingly, the end of the kimono blended into the background, blended into the ground like she were rooted to it like a plant. _

_She smiled at him, soothing the uneasiness within him. But then she started to fade. _

_He called out to her, wondering who she was. But it was over before he could hear a response. _

His body was drenched with sweat as he awoke, his mind racing. Shikamaru was not awake, of course, but it was almost two in the morning. Nowhere near time to get up.

He got up, not bothering to put on a shirt, and headed to the bathroom down the hall, hoping to let all of this clear his head.

Who was that woman? Was that someone from his past? Was he remembering her life now?

He was determined to find out, but he had no idea. It was probably just a dream, probably didn't mean anything. He was certain that is what Shikamaru would say. But Momo would try to help him get to the bottom of it, if she could.

His body ached from the preliminaries and the first round fights, but it was nothing that he couldn't handle. It was really just exhaustion brought on by reiryoku stress, something that reiatsu caused on the joints. He took a deep breath as he opened the bathroom door. He rubbed his hands in the sink, cleaning them as he tried to think about what he would have to do tomorrow.

He had two fights coming up. Two fights if he managed to win the first. Naruto was confident, adamant that he would win the first, but the idea of facing Temari was something to be worried about. Samui had warned him at dinner the night before that her classmate was known to be calculating and ruthless. Even with that information, he knew it would be up to him to beat her.

He washed his face slowly, before looking at himself in the mirror. He thumbed the scar on his lip where a dummy hollow had split it, laughing at the fact that he had done it in the first place. The SRDI invented some interesting devices that got on his nerves so thoroughly. From the self-replicating, regenerating insectoid hollow on his first field exercise to a swarm of tiny, flying bee-like hollows with poisonous stingers; Naruto found himself cursing the scientists and Squad Twelve after each field exercise.

He gripped the porcelain sink, leaning over it a moment and rolling his shoulders to stretch them out. He turned to the mirror once more and stared at his blue eyes, pondering them a moment. His face scrunched up, trying to remember the details, but he was sure that the red-headed woman from his dream had the exact same eye color.

_What the hell does that mean? _He asked himself, not able to break his gaze with the mirror. They were the exact shade of blue, as shining and bright as the woman he had dreamt about. What could that possibly mean?

_Did_ it mean anything? No one he knew had had a similar experience, so he could not get their advice for this. It made him nervous, dreaming about someone he had never met before. It probably was nothing, but it could be something.

He returned to bed, letting himself drift off to sleep. It took far too long, but once he did, he did not have the dream again.

* * *

Naruto returned after his victorious second round fight, his heart still racing. His opponent had put him through hell for a good three minutes with some kind of illusory Bakudo he had never heard of; he'll never look at a cat the same way again.

Thankfully, when Naruto figured out it was an illusion, he was able to break through the Kido by matching the reiatsu output and then surpassing it. He basically was pissed by that point, and used Sokatsui on the somewhat timid opponent. It was a direct hit, and the fight was stopped so that the medical team could treat him.

Naruto took a deep breath, calmed his nerves. After winning that fight, Temari was his opponent in the next round, which would be right after lunch later. He had several matches between now and then, and his friends were all going to fight soon.

"That was a bit overkill, don't you think?" asked Tenten, coming to sit beside him.

He shrugged. "Nah, I don't think so. We're allowed to use lethal force, right? And besides, I didn't use the incantation so it wasn't full power."

She snickered, agreeing with him. "Yeah, you got a point. Do you think anyone will use full force? Or if they should?"

"Yeah, we should use full force! I just knew that I didn't need full force to beat that guy."

Tenten paused, an odd look spread across her face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head suddenly, as though his question broke through whatever worrying she had. "Nothing, don't worry about it. Sakura should be up next, so let's watch!"

Sure enough, the pink-haired girl's second round match was up. She looked ready, for the most part, but she also looked a little bit nervous. The girl stepped onto the arena, walking over to meet her opponent. The wind ran through her hair, making it sway with the breeze.

"Does she look worried to you?" asked Tenten, biting her fingernails in almost a nervous habit.

"A little, but I don't know why she is. She's got some of the best Hakuda in this whole tournament, and her reiryoku control is top-notch. Her Kido is nothing to laugh at either. She's got no reason to be worried."

"Yeah, you're right, but she still shouldn't get overconfident. You never really know who you're facing until it starts."

Naruto knew that was true. Despite the fact that he watched the match in the first round where his last opponent fought, the guy had not used any kind of illusion against his opponent. He had used his sword mainly, but he managed to win. So apparently, any of these opponents could have anything hidden up his or her sleeves.

That made him uneasy for her, but he felt confident for her. He wanted all of his friends to do well.

Sakura stood across from a young-looking short girl with pixie-cut black hair and a pretty face.

"She doesn't look so tough," Naruto said. "She looks a little bit too girly if you ask me."

Tenten laughed. "Naruto, have you _seen_ Sakura's hair? And what's wrong with being girly?"

The boy hesitated before frowning. "Okay, you have a point. Because she's nowhere near gir-." His eyes widened as Tenten looked at him accusingly.

"You better be glad she can't hear you," Tenten said, chuckling.

Naruto nodded, realizing his mistake. "Yeah. No kidding."

Sakura and the opponent exchanged words, but Naruto could not hear them. All he knew was that it was getting both girls worked up just by speaking to each other, and Naruto wondered if they were discussing Captain Unohana's personal visit the day before.

"Sakura Haruno, from class two, versus Ayako Sato, from class one!" the announcer shouted from the press box. "Begin!"

Ayako wasted no time, drawing her sword and whipping toward Sakura in a dash of Shunpo. Naruto could not follow the movement completely, but when that was over, Sakura had a cut on her left arm that was actually pretty bad, from his prospective.

"Why didn't she move!?" he exclaimed to no one in particular.

Sakura twirled on her front leg, pivoting into a powerful roundhouse kick. Her foot was fast enough with the boost of reiryoku that she clipped the opponent's hip. Ayako clumsily Shunpo'ed to the right, tripping over herself from the momentum of Sakura's kick and earning a face full of dirt.

Sakura took advantage and leaped into the air, hoping to end the battle with one good diving punch. She screeched in anger as she flooded her weaker fist with energy, hoping to literally destroy the girl. Ayako recovered from her stumble though, rolling over just in time for Sakura to slam her fist against the rocky field, the force literally cracking it for several yards.

Ayako turned on Sakura before she could get upright, hoping to swing her blade down and end this once and for all.

The pink-haired shinigami-to-be suddenly stood up, throwing up an arm and catching the powerful sword strike with the bare flesh of her forearm.

"Is she nuts?!"

Tenten was just as surprised, but then pointed to the battlefield. "Of course. Reiatsu advantage."

Ayako stumbled backwards as the force of her own blow was re-directed by a refined and concentrated reiatsu defense. Her hands were incredibly bloody, shocked that the girl before her managed to have her reiatsu strong enough, and controlled enough, to block the strike.

"Damn it!" Sato yelled, strengthening her grip on the sword.

Sakura looked at the slight cut on her forearm, cursing as it continued to gush blood. Along with the first cut, she was concerned enough, so she Shunpo'ed backwards to give herself enough time to use healing Kido. She activated the spell without incantation, holding her palm over both cuts and allowing both to close enough to stop bleeding and null the pain a bit. She forced the exhaustion that came from it to the back of her mind.

"So you can heal yourself too?" Ayako questioned, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Sakura nodded, finally drawing her blade. She Shunpo'ed toward the girl, swinging her sword but the other was a bit faster, able to dodge the strike and then counter-attack.

The pink-haired student caught the blade with her own, the clashing sound enough to catch anyone's attention. This time, the reiatsu was a bit mismatched and Sakura felt the effect on her bones, on her joints as the girl pushed the pure force she possessed onto Sakura's form.

"Damn it, Sakura, use your Kido!" Naruto yelled, knowing she was good enough with it that it would probably make a difference.

**"Hado Number Thirty-one:" **Naruto was excited a moment as he heard the beginning of the spell's name, before he realized it wasn't Sakura. **"Shakkaho!"**

The red sphere of light collided with the pink-haired shinigami from Ayako's exposed hand, hitting Sakura square in the abdomen and throwing her backwards.

"No!" Naruto shouted, with Tenten just as scared. Sakura hit the ground hard, skidded like a hockey puck, and landed at the base of a boulder. When the dust cloud cleared, she looked absolutely rough, the whole belly portion of her uniform open and a nasty burn exposed to the light.

Sakura raised a hand weakly and started to shout, **"Bakudo Number Twel-"**

Ayako appeared over her, kicking her in the face and forcing her to stop her spell. "Oh, no you don't!"

Several attendants suddenly appeared on the field, a few of them fingering their zanpakuto, daring Sato to attack again. "The winner of this second round battle is Ayako Sato, from class one!"

The audience cheered, and Naruto and his friends watched in shock as Sakura was taken off the field by the medical unit. Tenten and Naruto stood up and were going to follow, but Professor Takashi stopped them. "The medical team does not need any visitors right now. That Sakura girl may get on my nerves, but I'm certain that she will be fine. I've seen people survive much more grave wounds than that."

Naruto made to protest, but the professor shook her head. "Seriously, child, you will only get in the way. You two sit down and enjoy the rest of the competition. I promise that I will come by and let you know when you can visit her."

Tenten took his arm and guided him back to his seat, just as upset about the results as he was. "It'll be all right. The professor did not seem worried, so I'm going to assume that she's right. Sakura will be fine."

"It's not every day that someone takes a point-blank range Shakkaho and lives to tell the tale though," Naruto said, still worried.

"You hit that kid earlier with an almost point-blank Sokatsui. And your spell was much more powerful than that Ayako girl's."

He frowned. "But this is different."

"Is it?" she asked, confusing Naruto even more.

He turned his attention to his thoughts, questioning and doubting himself once more. The next fight began, and Naruto was too wrapped up in himself to pay much attention.

* * *

The second round of fighting ended at about ten minutes until noon, and Tenten, Shikamaru, and Samui were all exhausted, but victorious. Samui was currently in the medical ward, being treated for a somewhat shallow cut on her thigh. Shikamaru and Tenten both managed to come out of their fights relatively unscathed.

The tent set up by the joint Kido Corps and Squad Four medical team was behind the bleachers on the northern side, and Naruto and his friends were all hoping to see Sakura. It was a bustle of activity, with robed Kido casters and shinigami moving in and out.

Naruto noticed how neither members of the Kido Corps nor of Squad Four looked to be heavy fighters, and from the feel of their reiatsu, most of them were very tame, controlled, and albeit weak. Much of Squad Four was filled with smaller, younger shinigami, a majority of them females. It was harder to make a judgment with the other medical staff, because they were all dressed from head to toe in heavy, ornate robes. He pondered it a bit longer but eventually, they were allowed inside.

The beds set up were mostly occupied, very few of them with serious injuries. Naruto had heard an interesting story about someone in the Trials many years ago getting their heads nearly cut off, and yet, the medical team was able to save them with quick work and Unohana's expertise.

He did not worry about Sakura after hearing that story, because if they can save a student from near decapitation, then they can probably heal a nasty burn.

When they arrived, Sakura was sitting up, conscious and looking much better; a Squad Four member was bandaging her wound with gauze, his hands glowing with a greenish blue light as he did. Naruto wished that he could erase her disappointment about losing, because even though she was nearly healed, she still looked upset.

"Hey, Sakura!" Tenten said adamantly. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm all right. A little sad, a little angry."

"Understandable," Samui commented from her own bed only a few feet away, her wound slowly healing under the guidance of a robed Kido Corps member. "But you shouldn't be upset. You did really well, for what it's worth."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Definitely. You should have gone straight for Kido, but you did all right."

Sakura rolled her eyes, finally standing up now that the Squad Four healer was finished. She wobbled a bit, weak on her knees, but soon righted herself. "You're not _exactly_ making me feel better, Naruto. Little mistakes make all the difference in the world."

"If you say so, but as long as you learn from them, that's all that matters," Shikamaru answered for him. "If anything like this happens again, you might know better what to do."

Sakura nodded, before looking at the clock. "Oh, you guys must be hungry. Let's go and get something to eat."

"Well, you should be good to go, but make sure you eat something that won't upset your stomach," explained the Squad Four shinigami. "Good luck for the rest of you!"

They all thanked her and left, heading to eat something before the third round. The pavilion was on the western side of the arena, and by the time they arrived, the line was dying down.

Once they all had meals, they found an empty table and Naruto ate as much as he could, still worrying about Temari. Shikamaru, Tenten, and Samui relived their round two matches with Sakura, explaining how each of them won using their best traits.

Naruto was not really listening, thinking over what he knew about Temari. She seemed to have a very analytical mind, not unlike Shikamaru or Toshiro. So far, he had several strategies based on her last two performances, and her main skill seemed to be her blistering speed. She was so fast that it almost looked like she never moved at all, definitely faster than him. And probably faster than Shikamaru, even though he and Naruto were much closer these days. He had several choices to make based on how the first move would play out, and it upset him to even think about.

"Naruto, what are you thinking about?" asked Tenten, finally having noticed his lack of input.

"Temari," he said, swallowing his bite of food and taking a sip of his drink.

Tenten frowned. "Oh."

"You guys got any ideas for her? I've come up with several of my own, but your input would help."

But they were out of time to share anything specific. The bell sounded out in the arena, warning them that they only had a few minutes to get situated back in the arena. Naruto's match was first, and unless he was able to get some ideas out of his friends on the way, he did not have much time.

"Welcome back!" the announcer said too enthusiastically for Naruto's tastes right now. He was confident to a degree, but his mind was cloudy and hazy. "The third round is about to begin, and the sixteen combatants are looking forward to the fight! Match one competitors, will you make your way to the field?"

Naruto took a deep, calming breath to try to relax before heading to the arena and nearing the center. Temari followed closely behind him, and he wasn't sure if it was just to show off, but she Shunpo'ed to her place on the field, earning a cheer from the class one fans.

"This exciting match is between Naruto, of class two!" The crowd shouted his name, and he thought he distinctly heard Tenten scream for him. "And Temari, of class one!"

The sandy blonde girl with the punk hairstyle and four pig-tails smirked at the other, spiky-headed blonde. The crowd was eating up the tension already between the two combatants.

Naruto tried to look back and memorize the output of Temari's reiatsu, thinking about its potency right at the beginning in the first match. Both in the first and second round, Temari had tried to finish the match in one burst of Shunpo, and he could use that pattern to his advantage.

"Begin!"

In the instant the announcer finished the last syllable, Temari blazed forward through the air, and Naruto quickly pulsed the reiatsu around his body. Temari appeared behind him, aiming for his spine, and the blade met its mark. He could almost feel her smirk, another one down.

But to her dismay, Naruto had used Sakura's strategy, creating a reiatsu defense that literally stopped the Shunpo-enhanced sword strike from behind. She tried again, but Naruto flipped around and met her sword with his own. Their blades were locked in conflict, his face only inches from hers.

"That was a lucky defense," she growled, not allowing him to gain any leverage nor the reiatsu advantage. "You won't be so lucky next time!"

She slid backwards, before using Shunpo to disappear from sight. Naruto still had a lock on her reiatsu though, and that was all he needed.

He turned and called forth Sokatsui without incantation. Temari's eyes widened and she dashed to the side, easily evading the blue sparking flames emitted from his hand. He did not let up, immediately firing a second and using a lead this time with her spirit energy locked-onto his radar. She was about to be engulfed by the bright blue blast of heat when she expelled her reiatsu defensively, dissipating the flames around her before the spell ended. "Nice try."

He Shunpo'ed forward, trying to overwhelm her with offense now. She gasped as he hit her weapon with enough force to force her back several feet, his spiritual pressure overwhelming her for the moment. He did not let up, swinging his sword again and again, and for several seconds, the only thing you could see where the sparks flying between them as they flashed around the battlefield. There was enough Shunpo on display that if any captains were watching, they would have to acknowledge their speed.

Shikamaru was amazed. "Wow. He's gotten much better than the little kid he was in year one." _Still hasn't aged much though._

**"Bakudo Number Four: Hainawa!"** He threw out the yellow rope of energy that had become one of his chief techniques, despite its low-level. It did not find its target however, missing by mere feet, and Temari flashed forward with enough speed that he felt the blood spraying from a small nick on his collar bone.

He followed her with his own display of kendo, cutting into her side with a well-placed horizontal slash, but it was not enough to do any real damage.

**"Hado Number One: Sho!" **A pulse of reiatsu followed from his finger, strong enough that it literally shoved her into the boulder behind her, breaking it apart and smashing her into the arena floor, only a few yards away from Sakura's divebomb punch debris.

Temari cursed as she tried to recover fast enough, Shunpo-ing to her right fast enough even while still laying on the ground to avoid his downward vertical slice.

**"Hado Number Thirty-two: Okasen!"**

The yellow blaze of light extended from his Asauchi blade, widening into an arc of energy that was too hard to avoid while going horizontally. In mid-attack, Temari blasted upward, using Hoho to stand on the air and jump to avoid the blast. Naruto supplied more reiryoku into it, diverting the Kido and channeling it upward, but even that was not enough. The dirty blonde vanished from sight again, stopping atop the boulder not fifteen feet away.

"You're good," she muttered, seemingly taking a break and not making any sudden moves. "Better than I would expect from class two garbage."

Naruto took offense to that, his anger rising. "Hey! Class two is not trash!"

Temari could only roll her eyes, and Naruto fell right into her trap of allowing his emotions to cloud his judgment. He rushed her, using a sloppy Shunpo and an overhead sword slash, and Temari could not help herself from taking full advantage.

She made a dash forwards and stuck out her sword, opening the flesh of Naruto's abdomen, despite his flimsy effort to defend it with reiatsu the last possible second.

He fell, the pain so much that he screamed.

* * *

_He looked up cautiously, something different about the area. His eyes widened when the landscape of his dream was suddenly back. He wondered for a moment if he were dead, angry that Temari had done him in at the Trials. But something told him that he was not dead. _

_His surroundings were not blurry this time, but he was standing in the middle of a forest so thick with trees that he could not find a single break in the leaves to see what was behind them. The clearing he was standing in was the only clear area, but oddly enough, it was only clear at the base of the forest floor, before the trees seemed to bend impossibly at an angle so it was like he was surrounded in a dome. Despite the fact that he literally could not see the sky, it was not dark. It was as though the entire place was as naturally as radiant as possible, like he was surrounded by light from all sides. _

_The constant breeze was pleasant, not too warm and not too hot. He tried to enjoy the feeling of the strange atmosphere, but he felt a sense of fear and urgency that was inexplicable. And yet, he did not want to leave. _

_That's when the woman appeared, the same woman from his dream. Her shimmering white cloak, her body somehow connected to the forest floor like roots, and her bright red hair. The kanji was readable to him now, reading out the word for "whirlpool" for some reason. She had seemingly materialized from nowhere, her beauty as radiant as Naruto remembered. He smiled as he saw her, her matching blue eyes crinkled when she saw him. _

_"Am I dead? Again?"_

_The woman shook her head. "No. I'm no angel, little Naruto. Your time is not up." She thought for a moment and added, "Well, your second amount of allotted time is not up."_

_He chuckled a moment, for some reason feeling completely carefree around her, like he wanted to just be comforted here. "Well then, where am I? And who are you?"_

_"This is your inner world, Naruto," she said, letting him work out the details for a moment. "I have been a part of since the day you were born." _

_His eyes widened. "Then you're my zanpakuto!" He was ecstatic, realizing that he was not dead after all and that he had made a connection to his blade. "What's your name?"_

_She seemed upset for a moment, which confused him completely. "Do not be confused, young one. I am someone you have not had the opportunity to know, but I have always known you. And I cannot tell you my name until you do one thing for me."_

_The cryptic talk did not assuage his confusion, but he accepted that and moved on. "What's that?"_

_"Embrace me, little one. Give me a hug."_

_He was confused, yet again. "Wait. What?"_

_"All you must do before I tell you my name is for you to give me a single hug. I have been waiting for this moment for as long as I have existed in this form, and you should not keep me waiting any longer."_

_He peered at her, not sure why he was being cautious. She was his zanpakuto spirit! He should be excited!_

_He walked over to her and raised his arms. The moment he was about to enclose her body, she vanished and appeared again several feet away. _

_He frowned, hurrying over to her and trying to hug her again. She vanished once more, seemingly melting into the forest floor and sprouting again like a plant away from him._

_He tried once more, running to her and trying to catch her, but once again, she slipped from his grasp before he could even touch her. _

_"Stop moving already! Let me hug you!"_

_He ran at her once more, but yet again, she was out of his reach. _

_He pondered it a moment, instead of trying the same tactic. He remembered something that Professor Takashi had said about jinzen and obtaining shikai. There was usually a test or a task involved, and more often than not, it was not as simple to complete as you initially thought. _

_"So it's a puzzle," he muttered with realization. "Where's Shikamaru when you need him?"_

_The woman brightened up when she noticed his thought process, and she wanted so desperately to tell him the secret. "Think it through, little one." _

_Her hope in that moment was dashed as he tried yet again to force it, Hoho-rushing her, but even that proved to be ineffective. She simply slipped away faster. _

_He cursed himself, and she wanted to reprimand him for the language but kept her mouth firmly shut. _

_For several more minutes, Naruto tried more clever ways of getting to her, but she dashed his efforts again and again. Even when he tried to use a Bakudo on her, the spell simply dissipated into oblivion before it even reached her. _

_"Gosh, all this for a hug!"_

_"If you do not wish to have my power yet, you may choose to wait. That will also cause you to lose the match to your opponent, a class one snob. You would not wish for this to happen, right?"_

_He shook his head adamantly. "No! Of course not! Why don't you hug me, if you want one so badly?"_

_She looked at him in confusion, before the smile suddenly stretched across her face. She walked toward him, the rooted-cloak moving with her. Her bright smile was enough to make Naruto melt. _

_The zanpakuto embraced its wielder, and Naruto noted that it was the most comforting feeling in the world. _

* * *

Temari watched with pride as the boy fell to his knees, his mind in a daze and probably unconscious. She gestured to the announcer. "You should probably end the match and give him some medical attention. I clearly won."

But everyone gasped suddenly, even the announcer over the loudspeaker. The boy had visible orange reiatsu pouring from his body as he regained consciousness, the pressure overwhelming on Temari and everyone in the audience. He touched the sword tip to the ground in front of him at a forty-five degree angle.

_**"Take root and sprout, Kusaritane!"**_

The Asauchi sword vibrantly began to glow with orange-white light, transforming into the shikai state he had been working toward for so long. When the light cleared, and the overwhelming pressure of his reiatsu began to die down, the spectators and Temari could focus on the new form.

It was an arm bracer strapped to his left arm, the steel surface covered in an ornate black and brown design. At the end of the bracer, sitting over his fist, was a dagger about nine inches long and glinting in the sunlight, and two pronged areas extending from it. It was black and silver, the black design starting with a rounded portion at the start of the blade, continuing down until it stopped about three inches from the tip. In the center of the rounded portion at the start of the blade was a large, circular area that was filled with orange energy from his reiatsu; there were two more orange pools, one a medium size and one small, continuing down the dagger in the midst of the black portion. The two edges of the dagger were silver, and both looked extremely sharp.

"Shit," Temari deadpanned, groaning. "Of course I would have to fight the one guy from class two who is worth a damn."

Naruto grinned, instinctively knowing how to use at least part of its power, a gift from Kusaritane herself, he assumed. He put his left hand on the crook of his elbow and aimed the bracer and dagger toward her. On cue, the pronged dagger suddenly launched at her with a shocking amount of speed, connected by a shimmering chain made of what looked like wooden links.

Temari tried to dodge it by evading to the right, hoping it would only fire straight, but Naruto used his reiryoku to guide it, the chain turning and stabbing into her collarbone as she tried to escape.

"Damn it!" she shouted, Shunpo-ing backwards in the hopes that the dagger would hit the end of his range; it did hit the end of his range, about forty yards give or take. The crowd was captivated, watching the match more closely now than ever before as Naruto retracted the chain with a simple tug on his right arm. "That's an interesting weapon you've got there. It won't be enough though, as long as I stay out of range."

Naruto eyed her, thinking. "C'mon, Temari. You're smarter than that." He used his speed to shoot forward, aiming at her in the same moment. He fired the chained dagger in the middle of the flash step, the speed increase probably enough to kill her if he aimed lethally. Instead, the dagger turned, the chain wrapping around her right leg and then locking with one of the prongs into one of the links. He yanked hard as he finished his Shunpo behind her, pulling her off her feet and to the ground several yards away.

He did not retract it, but Temari was still able to recover, angry now. She tried to stand, trying to force her way out of it, but Naruto simply yanked her again, knocking her into the ground once more. She angrily grabbed her sword, hacking at the exposed chain with her weapon.

"That's not normal wood, you know," he said, smirking. "That's definitely as dense as steel."

She screamed, angry she was not able to overcome him. "I'll just hack through it!"

"I'll just counter it," he muttered, running his reiatsu through the chain-links in a defensive move that might not have worked if Temari was more calm, because of her fluttering mental state. She was desperate to win, and it was clouding her judgment. Which was an interesting turn around, if Naruto remembered correctly, that Temari had tried to anger him earlier and mess with his head.

While she was trying desperately to slice through the chain and escape, he decided to end the match on his terms.

**"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado Number Thirty-one: Shakkaho!"**

The red blast of energy shot from his hand, heading straight for her body. She finally forced herself to her feet, fast enough that she escaped the brunt of the attack, but the splashing explosion of the energy rocketed her backwards. The chain hit its full length though when she was rocketed back by that explosion. Naruto was prepared though, standing his ground and pulling the chain toward him the moment the chain snapped tight.

Temari suddenly found herself flying the rest of the way in the opposite direction, and she skidded across the ground like some kind of abused animal on a leash.

He was surprised she was still conscious, so he began to chant another spell to finish her off when he was interrupted.

"Stop!" The match was over, as soon as the medical team arrived, each ready to defend Temari in case Naruto did not stop. He dispelled the spell easily, unhooked the dagger from its chain link with a simple movement of his hand, and retracted the blade. His shikai sealed away, this time sealing into his unique sealed state that looked like a wakizashi short blade with an orange hilt and a brown, wooden guard shaped like a spiral, the sheathe black. He slid it onto the Asauchi's normal place on his back, the sealed zanpakuto hilt pointed toward his right shoulder.

Naruto felt the sting of pain, however, on his stomach, and he looked down uneasily. There was blood almost pouring from his uniform.

"The winner of the match is Naruto, from class two!" the announcer yelled, everyone cheering and in shock.

The audience was awestruck, clapping loudly for his success as both Naruto and Temari were carted off the field for medical attention. Naruto had received a few minor injuries and the major cut above his waist, but Temari was much worse off. He gave her a sorrowful look, watching her react in pain to pretty much every movement the medical team made.

As soon as he was laid on a hospital bed, the Squad Four member began his healing the cut on his stomach, still bleeding and open. For some reason though, the healer gasped and Naruto weakly asked what was wrong. But he got his answer as the wound re-opened from the healer's efforts, causing him to lose consciousness once more.

* * *

When he awoke the next time, it was clearly nighttime and most of the other patients were gone. He leaned up in his bed to look around, but the effort immediately caused a burst of pain from his body.

"No, you shouldn't move very much," someone said beside him. He turned to see the Squad Four member who had started to heal him earlier sitting there, happy to see him awake.

"What happened?"

"The stress of your spiritual pressure on your body after activating your shikai sort of closed your wound at the end of the fight, but when you released your shikai and your reiatsu calmed again, the wound started to reopen the moment I began to treat it, and you lost consciousness from the added stress," she explained. "The wound actually turned out to be much worse than I expected. You won the fight, but you won't be able to recover fast enough to fight in the next round."

"What?" he exclaimed, the pain stinging a little bit more from the effort. "No, I want to keep going!"

She shook her head, her light brown hair swaying in the wind. "I'm sorry, but it's pretty much an order from Captain Unohana not to let you try."

He frowned. Part of him wanted to fight that order, but how would that make him look in the midst of all this? Part of the Trials is just to make a good impression on the spectators, especially the spectators from the three branches of the Seireitei military. If he defied the order and did something stupid, he'd look like an insubordinate fool in front of his potential employers.

"How bad _was_ the damage?"

"Well, the tip of Temari's sword pierced your stomach minutely enough that the stomach acid basically influenced your other organs. It was not a bad puncture wound, but it was difficult to operate on without literal surgery," the healer explained, holding up a Kido-enhanced glowing scalpel for good measure. "Now, the muscle damage is bad enough from having to get through it to operate on the puncture wound that any kind of movement is going to inhibit your ability to fight, and you could easily force the suture open again if you are not careful."

He frowned. "Oh." He remembered the story about the near decapitation. "So you can save a guy from nearly getting his head cut off, but you can't mend the tiny wound?"

"Don't patronize me," the healer said, apparently not taking the attitude at all. "That man was healed by a combination of Captain Unohana's zanpakutou, the Kido Corps, and almost every high seated officer in Squad Four. And even after all that, the man was not able to fight for several weeks, if not months after the fact, because it took quite a long time and quite a lot of physical therapy to mend the nerve damage from his spinal cord. Kido and Captain Unohana's zanpakuto are great, but they could only go so far." She paused, letting him think that over for a moment. "And you had me and a couple of other attendants, while the Captain and the Lieutenant operated on some of the more wounded combatants than yourself, including your opponent Temari."

The healer's reprimanding tone had made him feel about two inches tall, and he felt like receding into himself. "Oh. Um... sorry. I didn't know."

She nodded, before sighing slowly and deliberately. "It's all right. It's just been a long, stressful day, and you caught me at a bad mood."

He smiled, trying to cheer her up. "It's all right. No big deal. I probably deserved that for being a smartass." He chuckled lightly, getting her to smile enough that it made him feel much better about all of it. "How about my friends? Did they, um, win?"

"You mean- oh, God, what was her name?- Sakura, I think?" the healer asked, "and the people who were with her?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

She stood up from the stool beside her, adjusting the pink nurse-like uniform of the unseated officers who work in the hospital relief station of Squad Four. "I'll fetch them. They've been hanging around outside pretty much all day waiting to see you." She looked at a clock lying on a cart near the door. "It's almost one in the morning, so they've been here for quite some time."

Naruto waited anxiously to see them as the healer headed out the tent flaps, before coming back in only a few moments later, dragging Sakura, Tenten, Samui, and Shikamaru with her.

He grinned as he saw them, hoping to hear all the details of who is facing whom tomorrow and how the rest of the matches went earlier. He was genuinely glad to see them, and knowing they had waited so long after the end of the third round was a humbling experience.

They all greeted him, and the healer stepped away to work on another patient. "How are you feeling?" Sakura asked, holding her palm over the bandaged area and making it glow with the light of a healing Kido. "They patched you up quite nicely, but it's still very bruised and unstable. There's not much more healing Kido can do, sadly. It looks like it might have to heal on its own now."

Naruto nodded, having already learned that through his nurse.

"Well, you turned up better than Temari," Shikamaru said, gesturing to an empty bed. "She had to be carried to the hospital at the Squad Four barracks earlier. They called it 'severe bruising and trauma' on pretty much every part of her body."

"Nothing that she can't pull through though," Sakura assured him, smiling. "How do you feel about not getting to fight in the rest of the tournament?"

"It sucks," he muttered honestly. "I get this amazingly cool shikai and zanpakutou," he gestured to the wakizashi sitting on the stand next to him, "but I can't even use it. And Hinamori and Toshiro weren't even here to see it."

"They're probably busy investigating still," Tenten muttered, keeping her voice down low so no shinigami could hear her talking about sensitive shinigami matters.

Samui gestured to the bandage wrapped around her shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, I lost earlier." The blonde frowned.

"And I surrendered," Shikamaru said, and Naruto's eyes widened with shock.

"What? You _gave up?!_ Why?!"

He made a gesture like he was fighting a much larger opponent. "Sometimes, when you see how skilled the opponent is, you have to do a tactical retreat to save your own skin."

"Who were you fighting?"

"The most skilled fighter in all of class one, Akira Toriyama," he said. "The damn guy was massive and looked ferocious. I started to fight him, used the most powerful Bakudo I knew to try to eliminate him quickly, but he broke through it with sheer force." He shrugged as though it was obvious. "I dodged him as he tried to use this advanced Hakuda move he called Sokotsu, and both his fists ended up totally destroying an entire boulder. At that point, I knew I didn't have anything that I could do to stop him from pummeling me to the ground so I just gave up. Saved me the trouble."

"What about you, Tenten? Did you win?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, the girl I faced wasn't even strong, unlike you guys. But... knowing I will probably face this Toriyama guy if I win the next match is making me totally depressed. I don't even know if I'll make it out of there alive, shikai or not."

She said it so low that no one caught it but Naruto.

"Shikai?"

Everyone stared at her with disbelief. "When did that happen?" asked Shikamaru.

"Um... a couple weeks ago," she said nervously. "I haven't wanted to make a big deal about it because you guys seemed to be having trouble with yours, and I've been trying not to tell anyone in case it was useful in the Trials for no one to know.

"But," she exclaimed, her voice level rising as she looked at the wounded blonde boy, "then Naruto stole my thunder!"

* * *

The semi-finals of the tournament had arrived, and Naruto was thankfully well enough to walk around and enjoy the matches. It sucked that he and Temari had pretty much tied, whether it was declared he won or not. They both weren't able to advance, and that sucked tremendously. Thankfully, they were both in much better health than they had been the other day, even though Temari was still at the hospital relief station deeper in the Seireitei.

Tenten was the only shinigami-to-be from Naruto's group of friends left in the competition, and Naruto was pissed that he could not be with her. If Tenten managed to defeat her opponent, Akira Toriyama, she would be in the finals and then might be able to win it all.

Tenten's match came soon after the other semi-finals match was over, a rousing battle where Ayako Sato got her ass whipped. Now the finals were occupied by someone of noble blood from class one, and the other semi-finals spot remained open.

The announcer called for the two opponents, and when Naruto saw Toriyama and compared him to the size of Tenten, he suddenly realized that Shikamaru had probably been right to forfeit.

The merit of class two was on the line here, and if Tenten managed to go to the finals, it would be the first time that had happened in twelve years. She had a secret weapon, something that not even her closest friends had seen, so if she managed to use it and get lucky, she could beat this brute.

Naruto went over strategies of how he could have beaten the guy using his base abilities, and how he could have beaten the guy with his shikai. He probably was not strong enough to yank such a large, muscular target around like he had Temari, but maybe he could separate Toriyama from his sword or bind an arm or something. Speed was probably his downfall, and Temari was fast enough that it might make a difference.

The fight began, and the brute did not even bother drawing his sword. He just rushed the smaller girl with his fists, not even rushing to use Shunpo or even a simpler Hoho move. He just rushed the girl, Hakuda his chosen method of offense, and his sheer body mass and overwhelming reiatsu enough to make a huge impact on almost any target.

Tenten used her speed, popping behind him and cutting his calf, trying to eliminate one of his legs. But his reiatsu made it like trying to cut through steel, and she only managed to nick him. She was swift enough to dodge the ensuing swing around to try to grab her, and then she slashed at his wrist, this time drawing blood from a slightly deeper cut.

It wouldn't do, however, the guy bellowing something unintelligible at her from this distance. Tenten smirked from his exclamation.

**"Transform, Yukai Datsu!"**

Immediately, Tenten's blade, which he realized must not be an Asauchi anymore but had no defining characteristics of a sealed state blade, seemingly melted into a pile of metallic goo with a hunter green flash of light, leaving only the hilt behind. She waved the hilt over it and a dozen spinning shuriken took shape from the liquid metal.

She smiled as she flicked her hilt, sending the shuriken spinning into the enemy. All of them managed to hit her mark, cutting into the body of Toriyama but not even managing to cause much of an impact.

She cursed that even those wounds could not slow him down, Shunpo-ing out of the way of an enraged reiatsu-powered punch. The shuriken melted, immediately returning to the liquid floating in mid-air in front of her. She made another movement with her hilt, creating a large mace. She grabbed the bludgeoning weapon, used Shunpo to flash into the perfect position, and then she slammed the mace onto the man's skull. The audience grimaced at the use of deadly force like that, but Naruto knew it would not have killed a brute like this. When Tenten flashed out of the way, the man was barely bleeding over his eye.

She morphed her weapon again, this time creating a spear, using her speed to find just the right angle, and stabbing into the man's chest just above the soul sleep hidden beneath his rib cage.

"That's the definition of versatility," Shikamaru commented.

Naruto nodded, agreeing with him in awe. "She can make pretty much any weapon out of that. But it doesn't have any kind of special abilities to take down this sucker, and she is terrible at Kido."

"As long as she keeps up her speed and keeps attacking with different weapon types to keep him guessing, I think it'll be all right for her," Sakura thought, probably being optimistic. "She is doing damage to him, but that's like flies trying to blow up a tank."

The spear thrust did not do anything to him, so she liquefied her shikai again before creating a blade that was basically almost ten feet long and way too thick for her to even be able to carry, shocking most of the crowd.

She readied the blade, pouring energy into it until it glowed with green light. The sword met Toriyama's now drawn sword, but Tenten managed to catch him off guard and without time to react. The reiatsu-enhanced super-sword cut through the Asauchi of the enemy, cutting it into two clean pieces and enraging Toriyama once more.

Tenten evaded the man's counter-attack, this time trying to fade out of sight before he punched her in the face. So _he could use Shunpo after all?_ Naruto wondered. _It's really, really slow though._

She morphed the extremely long blade into a whip with several hooked points, and then used the whip to once again change her battle style. She cracked the weapon at the man's neck, pricking the skin and forcing Akira to cry out, grab the whip, and yank her towards him.

She let the whip melt away in his fingertips, knowing that she would have baited him. The melted goo formed around the empty hilt in her hand, before becoming a pure, rectangular war hammer almost larger than him. She enhanced it with her reiatsu, giving it a green aura, before slamming it down on the man's head, the weight enough to probably take down an elephant.

The ensuing dust cloud obscured her vision of him for a moment, and she took several deep breaths trying to calm down and let herself catch a break. She transformed her giant war hammer back into a sword, forming around the hilt much more slowly than before. She was nearly out of reiryoku, her energy spent doing all the zipping around. She once again wished that she had Naruto's natural endurance and stamina.

The man bellowed suddenly, shot out of the dust cloud, grabbed the girl around the middle, and shoved her against the ground unnecessary force. She was so damned exhausted that she could not even try to put up a decent fight, and she lost consciousness so fast that she did not stand a chance. Her zanpakuto glowed green a moment before flickering back into the sealed state.

But even though it was over, and even though several shinigami flooded the field the moment they knew it was over, Toriyama did not let her go, squeezing so hard that Naruto was afraid something was going to happen to her. He felt like crying out, flexing his killing intent toward Toriyama, who was only somewhat affected. "Stop it!" he yelled, and the crowd was going nuts.

The guy was berserk with rage, obviously upset at his Asauchi being broken and being so humiliatingly defeated so many times. Naruto couldn't take it anymore, so he stood against his better wishes, against the pain of his stomach, and began to chant a high level Bakudo in the hopes that he could save her. He had never attempted a spell this high, but as he began the incantation, he felt like it would work. **"Bakudo Number Sixt-"**

Something flared on the edge of everyone's spiritual radar, an intense pressure to powerful that Toriyama literally dropped to his knees and then fell unconscious, releasing Tenten's own knocked-out body in the process.

In a dash of Shunpo, a woman with a singular braid of black hair stretching down her front, wearing a captain's white haori appeared. Captain Unohana released Minazuki without a single word, Naruto was shocked to see Unohana's shikai in full form so close. It looked like a giant pale green sting-ray, and it literally scooped Tenten into its mouth without further ado.

"Do not worry," she said with a calm expression that was so forcefully kind that it was literally unsettling. "She will be fine. I will see to that." She turned to the other members of the medical unit. "Take care of Akira Toriyama as well. I destroyed his soul sleep and booster with my reiatsu; he was so powerful that he was a liability, a possibly dangerous force if not dealt with. If anyone should see retribution from the Central 46 for these matters, I shall take full responsibility."

And with that, she disappeared, her zanpakuto vanishing from sight with her, Tenten in its maw.

"What just happened?" asked Naruto, confused. "Did she eliminate his reiryoku?"

Sakura nodded, stunned and in awe. "She nerfed him completely with only her presence..."

No one could concentrate on the battle, the battle that had just decided the finals completely; the crowd was in a state of shock truthfully. Tenten had been put out of commission, Akira no longer had any spiritual powers to speak of, and there was no one left to fight the noble in the finals.

There was a whole ceremony after things calmed down to declare the victor, but Naruto and his friends did not even stay. He, Shikamaru, Samui, and Sakura found the nurse from Squad Four who had treated his wounds at the relief tent.

The nurse seemed to already know what was happening, and without warning, Lieutenant Kotetsu appeared. She smiled brightly, her lavender hair short and vibrant. "I thought you'd show up. The captain wished for me to escort you to the hospital in our barracks. If you will hurry, we'll try to get there as soon as possible."

* * *

The day of graduation was finally there. Things had calmed down considerably for everyone once Tenten got out of the hospital. Two years later, and no major events to report had occurred since. Naruto was just glad that it was almost time for him to graduate, but he wished he had a say in what squad he joined. He knew he did not wish to join the Stealth Force or the Kido Corps, but the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had to decide where each graduate goes.

Naruto was dressed in his most pressed uniform, glad that he would not have to wear the uniform after today. He had gotten quite tired of the same old thing for six years, and he knew it was time for a change.

He chose to not wear his usual headband to graduation, even though it would be a good moment to do so. He wanted to be respectful of the honor he was receiving.

Sakura, Shikamaru, Samui, and Tenten were all gathered in their positions. Tenten gave him a happy look, and Naruto knew deep down that she had never gotten quite used to not having a left arm. They had had to amputate it to save it, but Unohana had tried her best.

Naruto joined the four of them in line, looking out over the crowd gathered around the auditorium. He spotted the signature silver hair, and he smiled brightly; both Hinamori and Hitsugaya were there!

He waved at them and they waved back, glad to see him although Toshiro was considerably less so; at least outwardly. The Sixth Seat of Squad Ten still held many brat-like qualities that caused Naruto a lot of annoyance overall.

Squad One Lieutenant Sasakibe ended up performing the ceremony, much like five years ago at Momo and Toshiro's graduation. He greeted them, gave a speech about all the Thirteen Court Guard Squad officers who were present; some of them Naruto recognized, but there were others he had not met or heard of.

Once the festivities actually began, the line started to move up. He was nervous, nervous to hear of his squad placement and the people he might be working with forever. If it was someone that he did not like, what would he do? Apply for a transfer? He thought from his Academy studies that there was a process for that, but he could not remember the exact steps to do that.

So it was irrelevant to him.

"Samui, of Squad Nine!"

Naruto and the others cheered as the blonde-headed girl walked up onto stage and received her diploma, bowed to them, and then headed back to her seat.

More names were called, Naruto getting more and more anxious for the right squad.

"Sakura Haruno, of Squad Four!"

That made sense. She was best at healing, but she had some offensive capabilities too that Naruto could not shake a finger at. The pink-haired shinigami walked toward the stage, took her diploma from the Lieutenant, and then bowed to him and everyone else, before retaking her seat.

"Shikamaru Nara, of Squad Eight!"

He thought about it and then shrugged, glad that he had not gotten something he had not wanted. He too received his diploma and returned to his seat.

"Temari, of Squad Three!"

The dirty-blonde woman headed up the stairs and then back down again, diploma in hand. More names were called, including Ayako Sato who ended up in Squad Seven.

"Tenten, of Squad Eleven!"

Naruto pondered that for a moment, thinking that her base skills were essentially strictly swordplay, but was her shikai ability not a Kido ability? He wondered for several more minutes before realizing that it did not matter much to them. She had a weapon, she was good at using it, and it did not have a super-powerful ability. It literally could just turn into several different weapons, controlling the volume, density, and mass of each weapon. He could see why the fabled, most powerful combat division wanted her attention.

The one-armed girl bowed, took the diploma, and gladly accepted the offer, heading back to her seat in happiness. She would get to fight to her heart's content, whenever a threat came up. Whether or not that was good remained to be seen, but she could be excited about it. And she would let nothing interfere with that, not even her own disability.

Finally, Naruto was certain it was about to be his turn.

"Naruto Uzumaki, of Squad Thirteen!"

He walked up on autopilot, his mind automatically going through every detail he could remember about it. Captain was Jushiro Ukitake, Lieutenant was Kaien Shiba. Hinamori knew someone from there named Rukia Kuchiki, because they had been in the same year of the Academy. That was all he could think of right now, but he was certain that if gave himself a more calm moment than walking up the stage to get his diploma, he could probably remember more details about it.

The Squad One Lieutenant handed him his diploma, the paper feeling very, very good in his fingertips. He took a deep breath, thinking really hard about everything he had been through. Waking up in Hokutan so long ago, no knowing where and only having a first name to go by. Now he had a makeshift clan name, courtesy of his zanpakuto, but he still had no memory of his past life. He had met very many good friends, had passed with good grades, and had achieved his zanpakuto's shikai. He was more than happy with his squad placement, and he was certain that all of his other friends felt good about their placements as well.

He bowed to the lieutenant, looking at the ornately decorated diploma once more, before turning to scan the crowd as he walked off stage. His eyes first scanned over Toshiro's, and the boy just smiled in amusement, probably over the funny look on his face if he had to guess. And then he found Momo. She was crying, watching him graduate and glad that she had jumpstarted his journey to this point, even if it had taken him a while to start that journey.

Now, he was here. At this moment. About to step out into the world of the shinigami. And he could not be more proud of his friends, his family, and himself.

He took the final step off of stage.

* * *

**How was that? Hopefully you like the squad placements and the shikais displayed. **

**Kusaritane is loosely translated to "Seed Chain." **

**Yukai Datsu is loosely translated to "Melting Dart." Basically, her powers are derived from her use of weapons in the canon and her ability to warp "space" in order to seal away the weapons in her scrolls. Basically, she can give her weapons more mass and density, changing its volume as well, allowing her to create any kind of weapon whenever she wishes. **

**Oh, and if you would like to see Naruto's shikai for yourself, which I am pretty proud of, check out my profile. There will be a link posted there for it. **

**I'll try my best to do Tenten's as well, but it's easier to imagine hers because it's basically a ball of goo, not unlike the Bount doll Dalk, if you remember or choose to even acknowledge that arc. **

**And of course, the other Naruto characters well, when I am given the time. :D**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thank you for all the attention you've given it, and if you would like, drop me a review to let me know what you think!**


	6. 06: Crossing the Scaffold

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**06:  
Crossing the Scaffold**_

"Is it time?"

The scream tore into the night, the sound of blood dripping the only other noise. A bright blue and green light was emitted from the body, then soaked into the sword like the very soul was stolen. The man knew that was not far from the truth.

The empty husk of a shinigami was lying against a tree, the zanpakuto only inches away from reach. The man unremorsefully pulled the giant sword from the death god, the glow continuing lightly even after it was finished.

"You're the wrong person to be asking about time, Giriko," the man said with a slight chuckle, resting the flat of the sword against his shoulder. "Of course it's time."

He turned to see the dark skinned twelve-year-old girl, staring at the shinigami with a disgusted look on her face. The man knew she obviously did not want to be here, did not want to be doing this, but the power was too tempting to ignore.

The sword began to shine with green light again, and he moved in one motion and slashed through both of his two companions. The girl still flinched as his sword made nigh intangible contact with her body, leaving behind a rush of power that made her feel more complete, more alive than ever before. It was like an addicting drug, and even though she did not like the situation, she could not say no. She could not avoid its beckoning call.

"Jackie, you know you're needed, don't you?" asked the man.

The girl looked at him in confusion. "Yes. I... my loyalty is with you, Ginjo."

"Good," the man, Ginjo, said with a sadistic smile. She may have only been very young, but she was powerful. Very powerful. When it came to pure force, she had the potential to be nearly unstoppable.

Giriko, the middle-aged man with an eye patch, checked his pocket watch yet again. Kugo turned to him, eyeing the man as he checked the focus of his powers almost obsessively.

"Is there something wrong?"

The man shook his head. "No, Kugo, everything will be ready when the time comes. It always is, whether we wish it or not."

"Have you made the contract yet?"

"Yes. The contract has been prepared, the energy needed to activate it has been provided. It will go into effect the moment that the Senkaimon opens."

Jackie was confused a little bit about the specifics of their plan, about what that would actually do. "Are you sure they'll come?"

Kugo nodded, running his hand over his shihakusho. "Yes. They'll come. I worked with them for years. I know their inner-workings like the back of my hand, despite never working on one of their squads directly." He gestured to the dead body of the shinigami, which had slowly began to disappear into tiny particles of reishi, flaking off with a glimmer of blue light. "It's only a matter of time before they appear. I suspect they know it is me; they'll be monitoring me now." He removed the badge from the guard of his sword, pointing to it. "Won't be long now."

Jackie nodded, understanding. She wished that she did not have to be here, but the idea of testing this new power of hers, beyond the training she had been getting from Kugo himself, was enticing. It was something that she could not ignore anymore. She had to know just how powerful that she was.

In fact, they all did.

They all wanted to know how powerful they were.

And how powerful they _could_ become.

* * *

The blonde-headed shinigami shook himself out of his trance, staring blankly at the desk in front of him. It seemed foreign to him, even after all this time. He even had a name plate running along the side of the desk, the kanji for his name stretching across it.

_Fourth-Seat Naruto Uzumaki. _

It felt good to be so high up on the totem pole. The paperwork sucked, but he didn't let that bother him. Especially when he had both Kiyone and Sentaro practically following him around like lost puppy dogs, doing exactly what he said. He had asked them several times why they felt the need to do all this for him, but the two Sixth-Seat officers seemed to just need to do his work for him. Who was he to argue? If they wanted to impress the captain, he figured why not let them take some of the load off of him.

"Uzumaki!" a voice said, getting his attention. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Sentaro headed into the room, carrying a stack of reports from various missions, including Squad Thirteen's financial records for the past two months. "I have the paperwork you ordered!"

"I didn't order you to do it," he corrected. "You took it upon yourself." He took the stack from the older man, who gladly smiled.

"You'll put in a good word for Captain Ukitake, right?"

The blonde smiled. "Of course. I always do, Kotsubaki." Naruto was not sure if he was being completely honest, but he let the more impressionable shinigami think that he was.

Just then, Kiyone popped her head into the room, her own arm filled with files. "Oh, here you go, sir!" She glared at the other man. "You beat me, didn't you?"

Naruto took the files from her, a few reports from some unseated shinigami stationed in the World of the Living. "It's not a competition, Kiyone. You both know that."

All of their superiors had been saying that to them for years, but they both seemed to be after Captain Ukitake's approval so much that it went in one ear and out the other.

"Of course I beat you! I always do things faster than you!"

"Yeah, at half the quality!"

"Yeah, right! I had more paperwork than you, and I still finished faster!"

"I think you just proved my point."

"Shut up!"

The two bickering shinigami disappeared from Naruto's cubicle, still yelling at each other as they passed.

"I'm surprised that they haven't destroyed half the property by now."

He looked up to see Third-Seat Miyako Shiba standing above him, her soft black hair always in the right place. Standing beside her was the short black-haired Rukia Kuchiki, Miyako's personal shadow. "They never stop. No matter how much time goes by, they are always in some stupid competition."

The woman laughed. "You're right there. But is it wrong to try to win your superior's favor?"

He shrugged. "I don't know if it's wrong, but when they are so close in strength and work ethic, you'd think they'd have given up by now. Or fought to see who is really better."

"Hell, with our luck, they'd tie," Miyako said with a chuckle. Naruto and Rukia both joined her. "D'you have anything to turn in?"

He turned over some of the reports that he'd been working on, her taking them off his hands. "Any missions?" Naruto was always ready to head out and do some scouting in the Rukongai and the World of the Living, the idea of sitting around at a desk all the time not too fun. He liked to be proactive, or at least, more physically proactive.

"I don't think so," Miyako said, thinking it over. She looked to Rukia. "Have you heard of anything?"

The young Kuchiki shook her head. "Um, no I don't think so."

Naruto cursed. "Crap. I'm getting a little bit bored around here."

"Be careful what you wish for," Miyako said, laughing as she walked away, Rukia at her heels.

The blonde only had a few more minutes before he was off of office duty, so he waited it out patiently, absently flipping through some notes he had written. He looked around, wondering if Kaien was here somewhere. Maybe he or even the captain himself had a mission that Naruto could do.

The lieutenant was nowhere to be seen, so Naruto started a quick search for the Shiba's reiatsu. He frowned when he realized that Kaien was out of range, probably either on the other side of the Seireitei or on a mission of his own outside of the city.

"That sucks," he muttered.

Naruto turned on his heels and headed toward the captain's quarters, Ukitake on one of his sick spells. Every few days, Ukitake was bedridden, unable to perform his duties so Kaien often had to take over. Naruto at least knew where to find the captain though.

"Uzumaki, it's good to see you," the white-haired man said as the blonde bowed to him from outside the doors. "Come on in!"

"You sure you feel up for it?" he asked, not wanting to stress his superior's health.

"Of course!" Naruto pushed the sliding door open, closing it as he entered. "Is there something that you needed?"

"Not me specifically, no," he muttered. "I was just wondering if you had heard anything about a mission or something big going on. A really challenging scouting trip or maybe a dangerous hollow."

Ukitake tapped his lip, wondering for a moment. "No, I do not think so. We have sever-"

Just then, the two of them suddenly turned to the outside, a familiar reiatsu pinging on their radars. A black and red butterfly flew into the room from the open window, heading straight for Ukitake. Naruto curiously studied his captain's expression, watching it change from curiosity to shock.

The stress of the mysterious message, whatever it was, was enough to set off Ukitake's illness. He coughed loudly, hard enough that a very subtle amount of spiritual pressure vibrated through the soles of Naruto's sandals.

"Captain!" he shouted, hurrying over to comfort him. "What's wrong?"

The man coughed again, this time into a tissue that Naruto offered him. The contrast of red against the white material was not unusual, but it always worried everyone in Squad Thirteen to see it.

The butterfly fluttered around their heads, and Naruto wished he could hear the message himself that was obviously enough to make a captain stressed. The Hell Butterflies were very person-specific on the details they spread.

"Something... something from Squad Twelve...," he muttered, coughing again into another tissue. Naruto rubbed the man's back comfortingly. "They... they found him."

"Found who? Who did Squad Twelve find?"

* * *

Fifth Seat Hinamori noticed the disturbance, feeling the unique energy of the Hell Butterfly approaching. She would normally think that it was not a huge deal, but the pressure from it seemed... drastic. Thick. Very serious. Almost... grave.

Momo decided she had to know what it was, so she hurried down the hall of the barracks, hoping to find him in the office. The brown-haired captain had a look of surprise on his face, his eyes widening beneath the rims of his glasses.

"Captain Aizen, is something wrong?" she asked, as the Hell Butterfly retreated through the window.

The man pondered it for a moment, and she could not predict the man's thought pattern. His kind eyes were almost worried, and he turned to his Fifth Seat. "It seems that the SRDI has located someone that has been avoiding us for far too long. It should not be a problem to deal with him, so I sent a response. I'm sending you to deal with this."

She furrowed her brow. "Me? What about Lieutenan-"

"Currently indisposed, and the others as well," the man said with a smile, putting his hand on her shoulder. She instinctively tensed, before remembering who it was and relaxing; if her captain noticed, he paid it no mind. "Squad Ten and Squad Thirteen are putting together their own response teams, led by Lieutenant Hitsugaya. Squad Twelve suspects that the murder suspect we've been chasing for far too long now has finally come to light."

"They found him? How do they know he was connected to the murder from so long ago?" asked Hinamori, confused. "Who is he anyway?"

The captain looked at her with a small, sincere smile. It seemed noticeably grim, and she wondered if she could cheer him up somehow. "Kugo Ginjo is a human that we once trusted. He was caught trying to take another's power for his own, but he managed to get away and went into hiding. I've suspected that he was involved with these murders, because the crime seemed to fit his first altercation."

Momo looked at him quizzically. "Human? How does a human get involved with this spiritual business? I don't understand..."

"How is not important, Momo. What's important is that this man is going to kill again, and again, and again, if he is not stopped," Aizen said, serious enough that it worried Momo.

It was not like him to be so worked up. Why was he letting this Ginjo man get under his skin? Was he personally affected by one of the deaths that Ginjo had caused? Was he angry? Was he... scared?

_Scared? Captain Aizen?_ Momo wondered._ He can't be scared of _a _human._

_Can he? _

* * *

Someone ruffled his hair, and a vein bulged in his head as he crossed his arms. He opened his mouth to retort the coming insult, before it even arrived, but he was too late.

"Hey, shorty! How's it going?!"

He frowned even harder than before. He gulped, not letting the anger show on his face.

"Captain Shiba."

The thinly bearded man turned to him and said, "Why'd you gotta be so formal all the time? You're a little boy; little boys aren't supposed to be uptight! You should run along and play!"

Toshiro rolled his eyes to Isshin Shiba's eccentricities, but maintained his cool. The man _was _his superior after all. "What did you want, Captain? I'm busy preparing to go after the potential murder suspect."

Isshin nodded, brightly smiling. His thumb fingered the blood-colored hilt of his zanpakuto, Engetsu. "Ah, yeah. I remember." His face turned from playful to serious in less than a second, but the silver-haired lieutenant was used to the captain's mood changes by now. "Be careful out there. The man you're going after, if we are correct, is powerful. Maybe more than a lieutenant can handle, but the others do not think so. I would go with you myself, for that very reason, but Head Captain Yamamoto has forbidden any captains from pursuing the assailant."

"Why? If captain-level strength is necessary, then shouldn-"

Isshin shook his head. "Check your report again, Hitsugaya. The fundamental aspects of Kugo's strange abilities are documented pretty well there. Squad Twelve Captain Kurotsuchi has theorized that the man's ability is not unlike a Quincy."

Toshiro's eyes widened. How could he have missed that information? He flipped through the report on his desk, scanning the lengthy paragraphs and bits of evidence pointing to Kugo's involvement. "Oh. So this unique human ability that he possessed, even before receiving shinigami powers, allows him to absorb the abilities of shinigami, transferring them to himself." He paused, looking at the captain with realization. "Of course! The Seireitei cannot afford sending a captain in the event that Kugo can steal their power."

"You got it! His potential is what makes him lieutenant-level, not his actual abilities." Isshin ruffled Toshiro's hair again, and the boy's fists clenched in utter annoyance.

"Would you cut that out?"

"Aww... does the little boy need a nap?"

Toshiro turned to see the newcomer, the curvy blonde woman walking into the room. "Shut up, Matsumoto."

Isshin laughed as the two of them continued to bicker, the layabout Third Seat a tad bit drunk from her frequent drinking of sake. "No need to worry about this mission, Toshiro. I promise that everything will turn out okay."

The boy was surprised a little about how sincere he sounded, and he could only nod, more assuredly now.

* * *

The joint mission of Squad Ten and Squad Thirteen met at a certain point near the Western gate into Rukongai, ready to head to the World of the Living. The reiatsu signature of this mysterious Kugo had not changed positions, so they were certain they could theoretically activate a Senkaimon near where the coordinates were located. The SRDI was monitoring the situation very closely, ready to inform them of any changes if need be.

Naruto, and the contingent of six unseated Squad Ten members under his command, arrived only a few moments late. Still, Toshiro had to tease him about being late, and Naruto could only scowl.

Squad Ten was only sending three, not including Toshiro. Naruto could not tell what seat they were from here, but he imagined that they might have been unseated, judging by the feel of their reiatsu. Naruto wondered why the orders were to send so many people up against one guy, but he could only question orders occasionally. He'd leave decisions like this up to the tactical-minded guys, like Shikamaru.

He was pleasantly surprised, however, when he noticed Momo was among the group heading to the World of the Living, but there were no members of Squad Five with her.

"Hey, Momo!" Naruto greeted, grinning.

The woman smiled. "Hello, Naruto! I was hoping to see you here. I knew Lil'Shiro was leading the mission, but I was not sure if you were coming along with Squad Ten."

"Why are you here anyway?" he asked, curious.

Toshiro joined them. "Good question. Did Captain Aizen send you?"

She nodded. "Yes, my captain thought it best if I tagged along."

"Why did he not send some backup from Squad Five too?" asked Naruto.

"He thought a smaller force would be better," she explained, knowing a little of the particulars of Kugo's abilities. "We should probably get moving though, right?"

Toshiro nodded, heading to the front of the assembled group. Naruto stood in front of the members of Squad Ten, crossing his arms to mentally prepare himself for the fight. He thought it was weird that he was chosen to lead; it was not the first time, but this mission seemed to have a different feel than the other missions he has led in the past. More dangerous somehow.

He thought back to his conversation with Ukitake earlier and wondered if it was smart to wish for a break in the tedium. He supposed he got what he wished.

"All right, we'll be heading through the Senkaimon in just a moment," Lieutenant Hitsugaya began. "But first, we need to go over some quick details. Avoid contact with the enemy's blade, at all costs. If he stabs you, you'll die. And your death will only serve to make him stronger, making it harder for the rest of us." His frank and to the point leadership skills were a little unsettling to some of the others here, more so for Squad Thirteen than his own squad.

Naruto looked to Hinamori, standing at his side. "That was... cold."

"No kidding," she muttered.

Toshiro made a few last remarks wishing them all luck, before drawing Hyourinmaru and twisting it in the air. "Senkaimon... Open!"

The shining paneled doors appeared, before sliding open and revealing a bright white expanse beyond. Naruto took a last minute readying breath, before pressing forward with the rest of the team.

* * *

Kugo felt the disturbance in the air above the swamp the moment that it happened, and he smiled. The Senkaimon began to materialize, and he snapped a look at Giriko.

The man nodded, the pocket watch in his palm beginning to glow with bright green light. Numbers made of that same bright light emanated from it as the contract activated, surrounding the Senkaimon.

There was a bright flash of light as the entire entrance was sealed and held open from Giriko's Fullbring. Kugo smiled, however, when the secondary effect initiated. Blocking those with considerably more power.

Nine shinigami spilled from the opening, the green barrier-like energy disorienting them. However, there were three more shinigami locked inside the Senkaimon, and a blonde boy hit the green energy with his fists, unable to pass through.

Kugo knew they were rank and file shinigami, fodder for guys like him. Jackie was on edge, her powers not activated but her boots submerged in the muk of the swamp. Kugo wanted to send the young girl a reassuring smirk, but by this point, the shinigami on this side of the sealed Senkaimon had recovered from their surprise.

Ginjo did not even give them time to attack. He rushed them, holding his large blade and slashing through three enemies on the first strike. Green energy ebbed and flowed from the blade, absorbing power from each wound he inflicted. The six that remained tried to regroup, making a circle to cover all angles. Kugo heard orders from the inside of the portal to the other side, but they were useless tactics. He was far beyond the league of these shinigami.

He used Bringer Light to flash through the misshapen circle, cutting into the shoulder of one enemy, stabbing through the stomach of another, and completely bifurcating a third. The last three were so shocked as the blood from their friends and allies mixed with the murky swamp, tainting it with crimson red.

One of them fired a Kido he didn't recognize, trying to hit him with a bubble of green fire. He powered through it with one swing of his Cross of Scaffold, the energy spinning outward and hitting the shinigami's last two allies. He stabbed through them both in a burst of speed, his entire body glowing with emerald energy by this point.

He smirked at the last one, the Kido user. He chanted another spell, using the full incantation and trying to overwhelm him with power. "That's not going to work on me."

He forced all of his spiritual pressure in front of him, forming a bubble of protective force that completely neutralized the Sokatsui, enveloping the birch tree behind him in blue fire. Kugo blasted forward, snapping the last enemy's neck with the flat of his blade.

He stopped, took a deep breath at the carnage around him and relished in the energy flowing within him. The power was incredible, a huge dosage of combined energy from all nine unseated shinigami. He almost did not want to share it, but he walked calmly up to both of his allies and stabbed through them too, this time pushing the excess power into them.

Giriko was almost brimming with visible power, some of it running through his hands and the pocket watch. It was an amazing feeling. Completely incredible. "You think you could have ended them a bit quicker? I only have so much more time before the Senkaimon seal bursts. I could use a breather before the next fight, you know?"

Kugo rolled his eyes. "The contract was for six minutes. We've still got well over that."

* * *

Naruto slashed at the closed opening with his zanpakuto, cursing and his blood boiling. How could one man do this... this carnage? This was awful! "Murderous bastard!" He attacked the green force field covering the exit once more, trying to avenge the lives of his men.

Momo was in shock, tears rolling down her face. She had never witnessed this before. She had never seen anything like it, and it scared him. _Was this why Aizen seemed so scared earlier?_ she wondered.

"God damn it!" Toshiro said, his usually calm exterior breaking at the thought of that much death and destruction. His mission was falling apart at the seams, his men were dead, Naruto's men were dead, and these guys were even more powerful than before. Toshiro did not think he had enough power to deal with this man, but a combined assault from he, Naruto and Momo might could end him.

The blonde screeched, his mind only on one thing: get through that damn wall. He began to chant, his words echoing as he began the Kido. **"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado Number Thirty-One: Shakkaho!"**

The full-powered Kido blasted against the green sealed entrance, the pure force causing it to stretch almost like a ball hitting a piece of rubber. When the force of the red and white fireball did not dissipate upon hitting it, Naruto's eyes widened.

**"Bakudo Number Thirty-Nine: Enkosen!" **

A barrier of condensed reiatsu, shaped almost like a spinning fan of white light, generated from the center of his two palms. It blocked the major force of the impact and shoved the three shinigami backward from just the extra force.

"You idiot," Toshiro said when everything had dissipated, uncovering his face.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know that the Kido would be reflected?"

"I don't know, but assessing the situation would have been a good thing to do instead of blowing us up!"

"Well, while you were sitting there doing nothing, _assessing the situation,_ I was trying to help our friends! Who are now dead!" Naruto shouted back.

Toshiro had leveled a reply in his mind, but Momo shook her head. "Stop fighting! Let's think about what to do!" She could not stand it when she saw her two closest friends arguing in a situation like this.

They did not have much time to think. The green seal suddenly broke away, and Naruto was the first to notice. Impulsively, he Shunpo'd forward, wakizashi in hand. Toshiro did not even have time to tell him not to go, and he and Momo both followed him.

Kugo blocked Naruto's strike with the flat of his blade. "Interesting. You are a step up from the others, very strong."

"Why did you do this, you bastard!?" he shouted, unlocking their weapons and then swinging again, but Kugo impossibly moved his huge sword to block it.

"Power," he muttered, as though it were obvious. "Revenge."

"I'll show you revenge!" he shouted, using Shunpo to try to flash around the man and take him out in one hit, but the man vanished using Bringer Light and dodged the strike.

He cursed, his mind immediately turning to Kido. He was not sure if it would work, based on the prior performance of the unseated Squad Ten member, but he began the spell nonetheless. **"Hado Number Sixty-three: Raikoho!" **Yellow energy sparked in his palm, gathered into a great sphere, and then fired in the next instant, a giant thunderbolt shooting parallel to the earth. Kugo did not power through it this time, evading the strike by shooting his body to the sky, green light marking his path. The powerful spell cut a swath through the forest around the swamp, probably going almost three hundred yards before stopping.

* * *

Momo saw the opportunity Naruto's strike provided, preparing to launch a specific dual Kido to try to capture and then eradicate Ginjo. She prepared the chant, but as she did, something flashed in her peripheral vision and she instinctively flash-stepped backwards.

The dark-skinned teenager had kicked at her, enough oppressive force that it might have completely destroyed her if she had not moved from the position. Jackie touched down, her clothing having changed upon activation of her powers. The most prominent changes were her large, mid-thigh length black boots, covered in the mud of the swamp. A white scarf-like bandanna extended from the cap on her forehead.

The young girl sped forward again, but Momo was more prepared. She drew her zanpakuto and threw it up to block, thankfully knocking the powerful kick away with the help of her reiatsu.

"Who are you? Why are you with this dangerous man?"

The Fullbringer did not answer Momo's question, instead flashing forward with another burst of speed and kneeing Hinamori in the stomach. She coughed as she was shot backward, doubling over from the impact.

* * *

"Momo!" Toshiro yelled, drawing his zanpakuto and shooting in the sky toward her. However, he felt a mysterious energy attack shooting for him, and he only barely dodged the green number four shooting toward him like an arrow. It exploded against a tree, instantly incinerating it in bright green flames.

Giriko, the source of the numerical attack, stood before him, several numbers hovering around his body, circling him and daring him to attack.

"Tell me who you are!" Toshiro shouted, gripping his sword with both arms.

"My name is Giriko Kutsuzawa," the man said amiably. "Might I ask who you are?"

"Toshiro Hitsugaya, Lieutenant of Squad Ten." The silver-haired shinigami sped towards his opponent, readying himself for whatever kind of attack this man could use. The number one fluctuated in the air, and Toshiro tightened the grip on his blade.

He swung, but the number one suddenly lengthened, hitting his sword and halting it for exactly one second. Giriko used Bringer Light to flash out of the way, and Toshiro's attack continued just after that.

"You froze my attack?"

Giriko could only smirk, the numbers still flowing around him. "Inhibited it. My abilities allow me to make certain timers, allowing me to impede your attack. Among other things, of course."

Toshiro leaped into the air, dodging a numerical attack from a number seven that behaved strangely like a boomerang. He threw up his blade and blocked the reverse attack, catching the shining green energy on it and swinging it back at Giriko.

The man dodged it easily, the attack exploding on the surface of the swampy ground with the force of a small grenade.

* * *

Feeling Toshiro and Momo's spiritual pressures fluctuating, Naruto clashed with Kugo's sword once more, the two of them trying to push off of one another and get the upper-hand. Kugo's sheer force was terrifyingly strong, enough that Naruto was having considerable trouble. He wondered if he would have had as much trouble before Kugo powered himself up with the low-ranked members of their team.

"You're not going to possibly win," Ginjo muttered, the two of them glaring at each other before flashing and clashing again, neither able to create an opening. "I'll get through your guard and kill you." He paused in his speech a moment. "No, I think I'll keep you alive and kill the girl first. Force you to watch as the life is drained from her body. How does that sound?"

Naruto's anger bubbled over, the idea of this man touching a single hair on Hinamori's scalp disgusting. The blonde already wanted to rush over and help Momo in her fight, but after the initial trouble, she seemed to be doing much better.

"You're not going to touch her," he muttered. **"Take root and sprout, Kusaritane!"**

His reiatsu flooded the area, getting everyone's attention for a brief moment. His wakizashi transformed into the shikai state, his powers feeling very alive and very open. He did not have to hold back against this man, and he would do everything in his power to ensure that he destroyed him utterly for everything that he had done.

He raised the arm launcher, extending the chain as quickly as possible with a mental command. Kugo's eyes widened as the dagger headed straight for him, and he used Bringer Light to try to get out of its range.

Naruto smirked, flicking his arm up and changing the chain's direction. The weapon snagged on the man's ankle, and Naruto forced the weapon to stop extending and retract. Kugo's enhanced speed proved to be a disadvantage, his entire body hitting the bottom of the swamp with an impact that nearly created a tidal wave of mud.

He did not stop there, his anger flooding his entire being. He snaked the chained dagger back to him, dragging Kugo's still-recovering body along the ground as he did.

Ginjo twisted his upper body, swinging his sword horizontally in Naruto's direction. The shinigami's eyes widened, and he used Shunpo to get out of the way, releasing his chain in the same instant and returning it to the arm bracer.

Kugo stood, rubbing his mouth and spitting onto the ground. He took something from his coat pocket, a strange five-sided object. Naruto could not see all the details, but Kugo placed it on the guard of his huge blade and energy poured from it.

Instantly, Kugo was enveloped in light until his street-clothing changed into the uniform of a shinigami. A black, standard shihakusho. His sword did not change, but the reiatsu pouring from his body frightened Naruto enough that he had to be ready.

"You're not the only one with a shikai," the man muttered, instantly confusing the shinigami. "Mine is not exactly the same formula, but here it is."

"What? I don't understand..." Naruto said, before deciding that he just did not care. He swung his right arm, releasing the chained dagger once more at a very fast speed.

* * *

Toshiro had sensed Naruto's shikai and a similar discharge of reiatsu from the enemy, and he cursed at the possibility of Naruto being outmatched. He made a quick dodge, spinning out of the way of a spinning number five and then using Hoho to enhance his movements. He dashed toward the enemy, his sword in tow.

Giriko did not show any emotion, raising his arm in defense. The numbers swirled around him, and Toshiro had learned enough about the man's time defense to know the inner workings. He decided on a strategy that might work.

He raised his hand and fired an incantation-less Shakkaho. The blast was powerful and Giriko's number three flew in front and created another "timer." Toshiro did not stop, however, realizing that the Kido would have been the target of his immobilizing timers, since they were not connected to him.

Toshiro sped to the side, moving fast enough into Giriko's right side where he had his blindspot and fired another Shakkaho.

The number four moved to intercept, and Giriko held both Kido in an immobilized state, preparing to get out of the way.

Toshiro knew it. He instantly fired several more shots from several angles, numbers flying and stopping every strike with various different timed freezes. When he was certain that the twelfth one was in place, he instantly called on his zanpakuto.

**"Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru!" **

His sword changed shape, growing in length and gaining a chain with a crescent-shaped pendant along the end of the hilt, not unlike Naruto's.

He swung the sword downward, calling on its hidden power and releasing the avatar of his zanpakuto, a dragon made of ice. It snaked through the air rapidly, smashing against the area where Giriko should have stood.

When it finally faded, Toshiro landed and saw that his work had succeeded. "How's that for a time-freeze?" Toshiro said under his breath, the Fullbringer completely encased in ice and the kido faded inside.

In his own way, he wished that Matsumoto were here. She could have made fun of him for saying that stupid, corny line.

* * *

Momo blocked another high-speed leg with the flat of her blade, before knocking the girl away once more.

"The more you knock me down, the more powerful I will become!" Jackie yelled, emerging from the mud, her boots covered completely. She raced forward again.

**"Bakudo Number Thirty-nine: Enkosen!"** The spiraling shield of energy appeared before her, blocking the strike but the force still sent Hinamori backwards into a tree. Her shoulder hit painfully against the bark, and she nearly dropped her sword from the impact.

Jackie made to move again, but Momo jumped into the air with Shunpo at the last second. Jackie's ensuing kick snapped the entire oak tree down, before she followed into the air after her.

**"Snap, Tobiume!" **

Her sword changed shape with a flash of red light, instantly becoming like a silver pronged branch of a tree. Jackie's shock spread across her face as she continued her ascent, but Hinamori was past the point of having reservations. These bastards had killed her allies, and she was not going to stand for it.

She screamed the name of her zanpakuto, a red flame gathered at the end of her sword. She swung it quickly, the fireball diving toward the enemy like a comet of destruction.

Jackie spun through the air, rehearsing the move in her mind before actually making it. Her foot hit the fireball, her spiritual pressure expanding outward and redirecting the fiery attack toward her opponent.

Momo absorbed the blast with her sword, before firing another blast. She dropped to the ground quickly, Shunpo-ing across the swampy water, and firing another attack at the exposed back of her enemy.

Jackie's eyes widened, but she quickly kicked outwards with both feet, a mid-air split. The two comets were knocked-backwards, only the base of her boots being harmed by the fire.

"Keep sending the heat all you want," she said. "My Dirty Boots will keep getting stronger, each time I kick your attacks out of the way."

Momo suddenly snapped her fingers. A yellow spark flew from her fingertips, spreading quickly to the sky and surrounding the enemy. Instantly, the area around the Fullbringer exploded with a bright white light, smoke filling the sky and a shockwave flooding the area.

Jackie fell through the smoke cloud and to the ground, unconscious and burned badly. Momo took a deep breath, glad that the fight was over. She had used a lot of reiatsu setting up her dual Kido as silently as possible, and if she had been fighting against someone more experienced, they might have seen through her masked chanting.

She turned her eyes to the sky, watching as Kugo and Naruto continued their battle. She thought very hard about joining them, but from the feel of their reiatsu, she was not sure she was on par with either of them, shikai or no.

She felt rather helpless.

* * *

Ginjo raised his sword and blocked the dagger, the reiatsu flowing from his supposedly-human body in waves. The chain went slack, but Naruto knew what to do. He waved his right arm around in a circle, the dagger following his movements.

The dagger spun, latching onto Kugo's sword and binding it completely. The wooden links looked almost like a vine, trying to hold the sword in place. Then Naruto yanked, and with one fluid motion, the sword went flying. He released it quickly, before spreading his influence over his zanpakutou once more and sending it at the weaponless enemy.

Kugo cursed, evading the first strike easily. Naruto made the blade change directions in mid air, circling around and stabbing into the man's shoulder. Kugo screeched, ripped himself free of it, and then headed right at Naruto with a twisted expression on his face.

_Is this guy serious?_ He wondered.

The young shinigami quickly moved out of the way, retracting his dagger. He threw up his left hand and chanted, **"Bakudo Number Sixty-two: Hyapporankan!"**

A rod of violet colored energy appeared in his left hand, and he hurled it like a spear. It split as it sped through the air, disintegrating into several thinner projectiles. Due to Kugo's straight charge at him, the Kido managed to hit its mark, hitting Kugo in several places and pinning him to the ground about ten yards away.

Naruto released the breath he was not even aware he was holding, watching the man with disgust and hatred. The bodies of the dead were all around them, floating in the muck of the swamp. Some had already begun to deteriorate into spirit particles, but most of them were dull and lifeless.

"Damn you." Kugo spat blood at the ground, his hands held in place by the long rods of energy. Blood poured around all the places where Naruto's Kido had hit him. "You're pretty good. Thought I could rush you, since your chain takes a couple of seconds to retract."

"Weaponless?" asked Naruto incredulously. "You're lucky I haven't killed you yet."

"Yet?" asked Kugo, confused. But then realization suddenly came to his mind. "You know, I've seen you before. You were a little Academy runt back then, took a piece of my uniform."

"So you're the bastard I thought I felt," he muttered. "I should have chased after you back then and killed you. You wouldn't have had a chance to hurt me or any of my friends."

"You should take the chance you have now," Kugo began, making a slight gesture with his hand. Naruto did not notice the movement, but he felt a spiritual pressure emitting from his body. "Too late."

His mind reacted faster than his body. Kugo's giant sword telekinetically slashed through Naruto's hip, flying fast straight in Kugo's direction. A quick downward invisible slash freed Ginjo from Naruto's Kido, but the wounds were still prevalent all over his body.

The blonde was not sure how Kugo managed, but the sadistic murdered stood up, holding the sword at his side.

"What the hell are you?" Naruto asked, holding the cut on his leg with his left hand and his right arm held out defensively. The dagger glowed lightly with orange light, and Naruto knew it was time.

"I'm Kugo Ginjo, former Substitute Shinigami of the Soul Society," the man declared, gesturing to the addition he had made to his sword earlier, right before he transformed into a shinigami. "I don't particularly care who you are. And right after your friends are dead, they won't be able to care either."

Kugo flashed through the air, using a variant of Shunpo to vanish from sight. Naruto could do nothing fast enough to defend them, watching helplessly as the man sped toward Momo.

"No!" he screamed, as the shining green sword swung downward.

Naruto had to shield his eyes as smoke billowed from the clash he had not expected, not sure who or what was actually happening. He expelled his reiatsu like a pulsing wind, pushing the smoke away to reveal that Toshiro had parried Kugo's strike, but there was a long gash running diagonally down his body from the effort.

"Toshiro!" Naruto yelled, forcing himself to his feet.

_**It is time. Defend your honor. Defend your friends. **_

With the mental urging from Kusaritane, he raised his arm and immediately launched the dagger toward the enemy. "Get out of the way!"

The orange energy in the dagger began to swirl, spinning faster and faster and faster until the three orbs began to look like spiraling vortexes. He made a spinning motion with his wrist, mentally commanding the blade to spin rapidly in place, until the entire area of the blade looked like an elongated mass of vibrant energy.

Kugo only turned long enough to see Naruto's attack approach. Toshiro jumped away and fled from the area with Momo.

**"Rasentane!"**

The attack collided with the enemy, hitting Kugo's chest. Naruto yanked and retracted the blade, but the energy stayed behind, embedded in Kugo's screaming body. It swirled rapidly, almost like a vortex, ripping away bone and muscle as though it were nothing. Tendrils of orange light spread from the sphere of energy in a spiral shape, cutting through his body almost like roots.

Then it exploded, orange energy spiraling into the air for probably fifteen feet, snaking and blooming like a sprouting seed. The sound seemed loud enough to attract anyone on the planet with a spiritually sensitive ear. Naruto had to shield his eyes from the bright orange and yellow light, still not used to the attack despite having learned it months ago.

When it faded, the only thing left from the effort was Kugo's giant sword, sticking from the muck like a tombstone. The badge fell off of the sword, sinking into the swamp.

He dropped to the ground, both physical and emotional exhaustion filling his mind and body. The wound on his hip was still bleeding, and he was very shoddy with healing Kido. He could not really concentrate on anything or anyone, his mind too wrapped up with what had actually happened.

Had... had he killed a man?

Killed a human?

Ended a life?

Kugo had ended nine lives, several of them his friends and coworkers.

But was it worth killing him?

Something snapped his reverie, the appearance of someone at his side. He vaguely realized that it was Momo, but the image of Kugo's twisted face... His evil smirk... It would haunt him, haunt him forever.

"Naruto!" she exclaimed, touching the wound underneath the gap in his shihakusho. Naruto's Shikai vanished, resealing in a wakizashi and lying on the ground. He was too scattered to sheathe it, the calming effect of her presence doing almost nothing.

He wanted to ask how Toshiro was, how she was. If she was okay. But his exhaustion seemed to catch up to him, and his surroundings grew dark and faded entirely.

* * *

"... and that was when he moved his castle into checkmate! I've never beaten the kid once!" exclaimed a familiar voice.

The white-haired man palmed the device in his hand, not really listening to his closest friend's story.

"You're thinking about Ginjo, aren't you?"

Ukitake turned to see Kyoraku's concerned frown. The white-haired captain nodded.

"I can't... can't help it. I was the only reason he even had powers in the first place, and now he's gone. If he hadn't... hadn't gotten so power-hungry, he never would have committed those crimes and he'd be alive again, out there somewhere."

"Jushiro, you know he had that Fullbring of his long before you came along," Shunsui said. "Literally before he was born."

Ukitake gave him a deadpan look, and Shunsui conceded his point. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Our choices can't change, no matter how much we wish we could go back and change the past. I can think of plenty of things that I wish I could change."

"You've never given an insane man with hollow-like powers the knowledge of the supernatural," Ukitake said with a grimace, coughing lightly. Shunsui peered at him with concern, but the old captain waved it off.

"Maybe not. But I don't fret over the past."

"You're too lazy to do that."

"Fair enough." The flamboyant captain chuckled. "Look. Stop worrying about Ginjo and start worrying about your subordinates. They lost quite a few friends, and Uzumaki is still recuperating with Squad Four. You need to be there for them and stop fretting over what used to be. Think about what is and what will be, for the future of your squad."

Ukitake nodded, knowing that his friend was hardly ever wrong. "You're right. How's Squad Ten handling it? Have you visited with them?"

Shunsui shook his head. "I haven't heard anything. And you should know by now that I'll always come for you first." The man gave him a smile, causing Jushiro to laugh. "You want me to check on them?"

Ukitake smiled, shaking his head. "No, that's all right. I'll check with Isshin later."

* * *

Sakura closed the door to Naruto's room, looking up to see all of their friends in the waiting room. Shikamaru looked bored and ready to fall asleep, Samui was waiting rather patiently and calmly. Tenten was staring at the reflection of her sword as she slowly polished it, the movements of her recently repaired arm slightly shaky. Temari had a partially annoyed expression on her face, and Sakura could only wonder why; she thought that Temari had gotten over her grudge a long time ago. Toshiro's entire torso was bandaged and he looked like he would still be in pain, but Unohana had overseen his injuries herself. Momo was rocking herself back and forth, chewing on her fingernails impatiently.

The pink-haired Fourth Seat watched everyone realize she had entered the waiting room, and they all headed right for her. A thousand questions jumped out at her at once, and she had to rub the bridge of her nose and wave at them all to get them to calm down.

"He's doing much better today than yesterday," explained Sakura. "He should be awake by the start of the funerals tomorrow."

"Can we see him?" asked Momo.

Sakura shook her head, yawning. "Not right now. The best thing for you guys to do is get some rest. Especially you, Lieutenant."

The silver-haired shinigami waved her comment off. "Yeah, yeah, Fourth Seat."

Sakura chuckled. "Well I could always make sure that Third Seat Matsumoto knows you are supposed to be resting. I'm sure she can think of a few things to make you tired."

Toshiro's eyes widened with shock, earning quite a few laughs from the others. "Even you, Haruno, are not that evil."

"I wouldn't test me."

Slowly, one by one, they all left to return to their respective barracks. Momo was the only one who stayed with Sakura, who was supposed to do another check up on him after another two hours. The medical specialist finally got up to do it, but Momo called out for her.

"Sakura, I was wondering... Could you let me visit with him while you're checking on him? I'll be very quiet and be out of your way, and I'll leave when you do. I promise!"

When she saw the sincere expression on Hinamori's face, Sakura could not resist.

"All right. Come on."

The two girls sleepily headed into Naruto's sick bay, and Hinamori wanted to cry just seeing him like this. Sakura watched her, frowning at the emotions across her face, but she turned toward the unconscious blonde and started her check up routine.

Momo stood on the other side of the bed, watching the boy's unconscious form. The tears started to well, and fell without even meaning to. She was not even sure why she had started to cry; Naruto was going to be fine.

But seeing him... seeing him unconscious lying in a hospital bed really frightened her. She wished that he would wake up now, wished that she had confirmation that he would be okay. He had defended her, like he always had, and had ended up getting hurt.

She thought back to the events of the mission. Thought of Ginjo murdering all of those shinigami. Thought of the two people on the man's team, one of whom she had fought and defeated herself. She still did not know if the girl was okay, or if she had died like the other two.

She looked up to meet Sakura's gaze. "No one else on Squad Four will tell me, but do you know if the girl I fought is okay? Did she recover? I don't really know why they are keeping it such a secret, but Squad Four did heal her, right?"

Sakura leaned in closer to Momo. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but Lieutenant Kotetsu herself healed the little girl to at least a stable level and dropped her off at the nearest human hospital. Isane erased her memories of the event and left, hurrying back here."

Momo looked at her with confusion. "Why did she not tell anyone? I don't get it."

"This girl was an enemy, Momo. And Squad Four is not allowed to leave Soul Society without express Central 46 permission," Sakura explained. "The Captain helped her sneak away so that she could hopefully grant the girl a relatively normal life."

"That's a dumb rule," she muttered under her breath. "What happens if someone is injured in a Hollow attack and can't make it through a Senkaimon?"

"Exactly," Sakura said. "I've been trying to convince Unohana to let me organize an Interdimensional Relief Team within the Squad, but it's out of her hands. I'm not going to give up trying though."

Hinamori nodded. "That's good. Don't give up trying to do that. And thanks for letting me know. I won't tell anyone."

Sakura nodded, before returning her attention to Naruto. "I don't plan on giving up. I think it's too important."

Momo agreed with her, her expression solemn as she watched Sakura apply healing Kido to the nearly-healed wound on Naruto's hip.

She watched the boy's peaceful face, pretending in her mind that he was only asleep. The moonlight streamed through the window, caressing the boy's cheek-whiskers. The image made her smile.

* * *

_**How was that for a chapter? For a timeline reference, this chapter takes place roughly 24 years before Ichigo gets his powers from Rukia. So about 11 years since he graduated from the Academy. **_

_**I thought expanding on Kugo's backstory with Ukitake would be interesting. And since the Fullbring arc was so shittily written, compared to the other arcs of the manga/anime, I thought I would basically wrap that up now so you won't have to suffer through that. :D I took some creative liberties with Giriko's powers and with Jackie's age, but we'll just say that being a Fullbringer gives you slightly slowed aging in my fic; it's not that implausible, actually, since Kugo was so much older than Tsukishima. **_

_**Rasentane roughly translates to "Spiraling Seed." I thought having a Rasengan-like ability for his zanpakutou would be interesting, and it is different enough I think that it isn't cliche. :D And it's plant-themed, sort of.**_

_**Sorry it took so long! College has started back up for me, and I do not have a lot of free time to write, usually. I'd like to keep the pace to a couple of times a month, if not faster! **_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks a lot to everyone who has reviewed and alerted/favorited! It means a lot to me, and I would love to hear from you for those who are just reading! **_

_**I also added quite a bit of information about the fic to my profile, so you should check it out! **_

_**'Til next time!**_


	7. 07: Regret

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto, or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**.:07:.  
Regret**_

_A figure stood trapped in the past, lost in the present. Nothing was clear, nothing was right. She didn't have substance, didn't have feeling. _

_Blurred landscapes filled with bright greens and stunning blues..._

_Tiny bulbs of bright colors mixed with much larger dark hues... _

_Sounds of fighting, a struggle that crossed the land. _

_Smells of fire, blood, death. _

_Emptiness. Loneliness. Pain. Destruction. Peace. Pain._

_Nothing. _

_Not one single image was coherent. Focus could be applied to them, but it was met with little success. Sometimes the haze was clear enough to reveal the corner of a piece of navy fabric. The fine-tuned point of a dagger. A flicker of sandy brown dust, a liquid drop of red-blood crimson. _

_It scared her. _

_She could not contain the foreign influences that seemed to switch tones within the fractions of each second. _

_She was not even sure how long each second was. It seemed the lines of time were blurred. Blurring in and out of existence like it could never, ever be understood. _

_Her mind was a cluttered mess of nothingness. _

_And yet, she felt everything._

* * *

"Damn it!" the boy yelled, his short sword slashing through the air and catching the bird-like hollow on the wing. He parried the next strike from its talon, the attack dangerously close to hitting his neck.

The hollow shouted a battle-cry, swiping at him again. He twisted backwards with as much speed as he could, throwing himself away from the bladed feathers and the spear-like beak extending from the mask. It scowled, opening its maw and unleashing what could only be a sonic attack. He had to fight consciousness from the sheer pain of that, feeling one of his ear-drums bursting from the effort.

"Uzumaki!" a voice yelled, using the surname Naruto had gotten from his zanpakuto spirit. He didn't have time to look, the avian creature taking advantage and flying fast toward him.

When the pain numbed enough, he brought up his sword and blocked the strike, the pure force of it flinging him back far enough that he slammed into the wall behind him, knocking out his breath.

Why was he having this much trouble against the hollow? It wasn't like this one was particularly strong, at least not by the feel of its reiatsu. It is just the fact that it was relying on trickery and its abilities rather than just strength?

He spared a look at the source of the voice, seeing Shikamaru struggling against a turtle-like hollow, who ironically, had quite a bit of speed. Third Seat Nara retreated from his opponent, holding his katana in front of him and trying to think of a way out of this. That was what Shikamaru was good at after all.

The other squad members of Squad Eight and Squad Thirteen had already gone ahead to protect, and konso, the group of souls that had died in the bus accident a few blocks away. Naruto was not worried, because Sentaro and Kiyone were there and could handle themselves.

But why was he having this much trouble? He didn't think these low-level hollows would even need his shikai. He had tried two separate Hado and Bakudo, but they had not managed to do anything because the damn falcon-like hollow was fast enough to dodge them.

**"Hado Number Thirty-three: Sokatsui!"** The great wave of cackling blue fire streaked through the sky, but the hollow managed to avoid the blunt of the attack, only part of it singeing the end of its left wing.

_"It'll take more than that, shinigami!"_ the hollow cried, diving at him so quickly that Naruto had to shunpo backwards to evade it, the creature crushing the sidewalk and then flinging the concrete at him. The Fourth Seat leapt into the air quickly enough to evade the large boulder, before deciding to move onto the offensive, throwing himself into the air.

"Let's see how _you_ like it!" he exclaimed, diving at the monster with his sword pointed at a forty-five degree angle, hoping to at least be able to graze it. The creature screeched again, the sound deafening and distracting him long enough that he lost control of his descent.

The blonde hit the pavement hard, his sword scattering from his hands. "Shit," he deadpanned, rolling out of the way of the monster's next attack, his ears pounding in his head. One side was bleeding, red streaming from his ears.

He flash-stepped in the direction of his sword, scooping it up despite his lack of proper balance. The hollow's sonic attack must be affecting his inner ear, and he cursed at the implications of that.

Shikamaru noticed his trouble but was unable to help him, the turtle moving fast enough that he couldn't really comment on anything. The turtle's thick shell covered every inch of its body, like a dinosaur's dense armor. Every attack that he threw at it, the creature simply absorbed it or dodged it, moving at surprising speeds.

"You're not going to be able to do anything to me, shinigami. Let me feed on you and your friends and all the other shinigami and souls back at the site of the accident!"

Shikamaru blasted forward, his signature ability to run away working for him here. He threw out his katana, grazing against the body of the hollow but unable to possibly damage it. The creature's heavy tail whipped out and collided with Shikamaru's stomach, throwing him into a car and denting it. It created a scene for any bystanders, and Shikamaru realized that he had to attract the creature out of the area.

He air-stepped up into the sky, hoping the creature would follow. He ran through several strategies, thinking over the possibilities. Force was not going to work, so he needed ingenuity. What could he do now that could help him defeat this bastard?

He only had one choice, but that wouldn't exactly work as well in the air... His eyes widened, realizing that it could work very well.

**"Split, Kakusayami!" **With a purple flash of light, his katana turned dark black and then disappeared, leaving him seemingly without a weapon. The hollow laughed as it headed for him, jumping on the air as easily as if it could fly.

"That's a pretty strange shikai," the creature began. "Did you force your own sword to disappear? I'll show you how stupid your last decision will ever be!" The turtle-like hollow rushed at him, its spiked, skull-like mask heading right for him.

Shikamaru didn't move. His body remained perfectly still, but his mind was spinning rapidly. Just before the hollow appeared, it stopped, all of its inertia heading upwards as it cried out in pain. The Third Seat looked down to see the being made of pure shadow, a pure black sword stabbing through the creature's abdomen, in between two plates of pale hide.

The hollow roared in pain, leaping upward fast enough that it pulled itself from the impaling shadow-soldier. Shikamaru's zanpakuto moved to stand in front of him, holding out the blade in a basic kendo form.

Ideally, his shikai fit him so well. Having someone do all the fighting for him was perfect; it all came down to his mental commands.

The turtle-like hollow charged once more, but the shadow-being slashed at the creature, cutting through a layer of the creature's armor.

_"What? No one has been able to pierce through my armor!"_

"Your armor doesn't work for energy-based attacks, and my shadow is similar." His dark minion attacked the hollow once more, cutting into the creature's arm and then clean off. The monster roared again, but before it could do anything else, the shadow leapt upward and slammed into the center of the creature's shell.

He took a deep breath and then released it, thankful that the hollow had not seen his shadow-self approaching or having the creature be able to understand his ability. It was timed just right that the creature slammed into the bird-like hollow Naruto was fighting, pinning it to the ground before vanishing.

Nara silently thanked his zanpakuto spirit, before resealing and putting it away. He wasn't looking forward to Naruto giving him hell about interfering in his fight, but he couldn't care less.

The falcon hollow prepared to take off again, but Naruto was ready this time. He trapped it with a powerful Hainawa rope, before walking up to it calmly and stabbing it in the eye. It made one last attempt to sonic-scream but it was already finished. The last hollow disappeared as well, dissipating into tiny spirit particles.

"Before you start, Naruto, I just want you to know that I did not mean to have my hollow fall onto your hollow."

The blonde rolled his eyes, breathing deeply from the battle fatigue. "Yeah, right, Shikamaru. You never make a moment in battle happen by accident. Why'd you have to interfere? I could have beaten it on my own!"

"Yeah, probably. I managed to help you wrap it up though, so let's get back to the others. I need a nap."

Naruto shook his head, not surprised by his response. He knew he could have beaten the hollow if he had used his shikai, so he probably should have used it sooner.

As he and Shikamaru headed to meet up with the other squad members and help the souls migrate to the other side, Naruto could have sworn he felt something... odd. Something that just felt very strange, not on his normal senses and not on his spiritual radar. It was just... within his mind.

It was enough that it nearly made him stop altogether, to question where that brief flash of a feeling even came from. He wanted to know where it had come from, and why it had felt so foreign and yet familiar at the same time.

_Kusaritane, do you have any idea what that was? Did you have something to do with it?_

_"No, I'm afraid I do not. It did seem to be a little out of the ordinary, but it seems to have gone."_

Naruto could not decipher it, and when he realized he had fallen behind Shikamaru, he pushed onward, his mind still trying to wrap around it.

* * *

When they returned to the Soul Society, Naruto and the other members of Squad Thirteen returned to the barracks. He headed to Ukitake to file the report. Eleven souls were sent to the other side, as well as two hollows. He didn't mention the strange feeling he had experienced, thinking that Ukitake would even be able to understand.

Naruto decided that it didn't really matter if he understood it or not, shoving it to the back of his mind. He was completely ready to head to bed, the day nearly over, but someone stopped him in the hallway.

"Hey, Naruto, did your mission go well?" asked Rukia, the unseated shinigami who hardly ever left Third Seat Shiba's side.

The blonde nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I managed. We ran into a little trouble, but it was over soon enough. Did you need anything in particular?"

She looked like she might have something more to say, but the girl shook her head. "No, sir."

"You don't have to call me sir, Rukia. I'm pretty sure you're older than me," he said, laughing. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me work on some things sometime soon? The lieutenant has been busy lately, and he hasn't been able to help me as much as he used to."

Naruto smiled, nodding. "Yeah, I don't see why not. I've done it a few times before, but you tend to teach me too." She laughed. "It's usually more like us training together really. Were you having any trouble with something in particular?"

Before she could comment, Sentaro suddenly appeared, rushing in the direction of the captain's room. "Where's the fire?" he asked, smiling but realizing that the serious look on the man's face was not a good sign.

"What's wrong, Sentaro?" asked Rukia, worried.

"No time to explain!" he said, rushing past them. The two of them followed, heading toward the captain's office.

Sentaro slid open the door, shouting, "Sir! The recon team! There's bad news!" The captain coughed in surprise, and the lieutenant shot up, ready to act.

Naruto's eyes widened, and Rukia froze completely. The reconnaissance team that had left earlier that day had been led by Third Seat Shiba, although that was all Naruto knew. He had left on his own mission to the World of the Living before he could receive any more details.

Naruto followed the others to a relief station within the barracks, not quite as well equipped as Squad Four. Lying inside and being monitored by a low-ranking shinigami was Miyako Shiba, her reiatsu so low and fluctuating that Naruto knew it did not look good for her.

The lieutenant gasped upon entering the room, his expression one of horror. "Miyako!"

"She's unconscious now," the shinigami on duty explained, "but her life is not in any danger."

Naruto was relieved. Hearing him say that made him feel so much better.

The white-haired captain looked grave. "And the others?"

"They're all dead, sir."

"All four of them?"

Shock spread through the room, Naruto's heart beating fast. It had been weeks- no, months since someone on the squad died in battle, and that had been only one life. Hearing that four died all at once was more terrifying than ever.

Rukia stepped forward, her expression filled with concern. "Kaien?"

"What killed them, sir? What was so dangerous about this mission?" asked Naruto, his emotions on high.

The captain was lost in thought, but once he realized he was being addressed, he shook off the confusion. "This hollow was particularly dangerous, even more so than we originally anticipated." He looked toward the unconscious body of Kaien's wife. "She was lucky to have survived, Kaien. You should be thankful."

The lieutenant did not comment, his expression grave and stoic. He could not leave his wife's side, worried too much for her own safety to think about anything else.

* * *

Eventually, the others turned to bed. Naruto left the room but could not head to bed himself, deciding to take over a shift guarding the perimeter wall of the barracks. He had too much on his mind and not enough time to consider the options of what was happening.

The blonde sighed, watching the woodsy area and feeling slightly reminiscent of his time in Rukongai all those years ago. He had to be nearly ninety years old by now, not including how long he lived as a human. And he had no clue how long that had been.

The leaves were a comforting sight, however; calming, almost peaceful. He could not quite understand why. He had brought it up with Hinamori once, and she had theorized that it had a connection with the plant-like nature of Kusaritane. That may have been the case, but Naruto liked nature, so perhaps he was reading too much into it.

Nevertheless, the trees seemed to calm his nerves. He was still trying to wrap his mind around what had happened to Miyako and the others. He still did not have a clue what kind of hollow the others had faced, but it made him consider that it could have been him or Shikamaru that had been hurt. If the hollows had been a little bit more advanced, there was no question that they could have been seriously injured; Naruto was already nursing some nasty bruises and a cut on his left shoulder. What if it had been the kind of hollow that had hurt Miyako? Would he have shared the same fate as her, or would it have been even worse for him?

He cursed, thinking far too hard about the matters at hand. He wanted to visit with Hinamori, but he knew she was either too busy or asleep. Either way, the girl always had the unique ability to help him clear his mind of fear and doubt.

The blonde felt a spike of energy behind him, not far away but potent enough that it was readable. He was further surprised when he realized that it was familiar, but he could not quite place who it was.

A scream shattered the night, and he immediately flash-stepped toward the source, danger fueling his adrenaline. What could be happening?

His eyes widened when he saw Miyako Shiba, her face splattered with blood, the bodies of three night patrol squad members strewn around her. Shadows obscured the top half her face, but there was no mistaking who it was. Naruto gasped as the woman suddenly sped toward him, her sword raised above her head.

He grabbed his own wakizashi, parrying the strike and then falling back, his body reacting faster than his own mind.

"What are you doing, Third Seat Shiba? Why did you kill them?!" The blonde asked, blocking another clumsy strike but not wanting to go onto the offensive.

The woman made no reply, continuing her almost desperate and mistake-filled attacks. Her form was... not good, her body moving unrealistically for combat. She left far too many holes open in her defense, holes that Naruto knew he could exploit if the situation were different. The sounds of their blades clashing filled the night, and it eventually caught someone's attention.

Captain Ukitake and Rukia suddenly appeared, their faces surprised to see the dueling shinigami and even more surprised to see the three dead squad members at their feet. "Wha- What's going on, Naruto? Miyako?"

"Naruto, why are you attacking her?!" Rukia shouted, reaching for her own sword to try to intervene. Sentaro and Kiyone appeared behind her, aghast at what was happening.

Naruto cursed under his breath, blocking another strike and stepping backward again, trying to put some distance between them. "I came to investigate a spike in reiatsu and a scream, but I found her attacking and killing these three squad members! She suddenly started attacking me when I got here!" He threw up his short sword to defend against another strike to his neck, flinging his body away from the enemy's blade.

He ran backwards, her surprisingly not following. But after a few seconds, she smiled and then shot forward toward the group.

The lieutenant materialized in front of them, throwing out both arms to defend the people behind them. "Stop it, Miyako!" Kaien shouted into the night.

The woman ground to a halt, her sword arm still poised in the air as though she were going to strike them at any given moment. She seemed to be struggling, her body twisting strangely. Before anyone could confront her, she leaped into the air over them, dropped, and then jumped again, heading away from the area. Another scream tore into the night, and Naruto grimaced at what was even happening.

"Kaien, hurry!" Ukitake said, not making a move forward. The usual captain-like behavior of not getting involved unless necessary. The lieutenant nodded, weaving through the crowd and hurrying after her. After another few seconds, the rest followed.

The carnage before them was tough to stomach, another two dead shinigami lying before them. The smell of blood and meat was thick in the air, and Naruto had to fight down his stomach at the thought of it.

"I can't believe she did this," Ukitake said, his body illuminated by the torch light.

"Oh, Kaien," Rukia muttered softly, her concern written heavily across her face.

"Let me go after her, Captain." Kaien stood up from examining one of the bodies. "She co-could not have gotten very far, sir."

"No, don't!" The captain exclaimed. "Think about it. Following her is exactly what the enemy wants you to do."

"That may be," the lieutenant said grimly. "But it's still the only option. This monster that's controlling Miyako used her to kill her own men, men who trusted her. Miyako's honor has been defiled! You must let me go, Captain!"

There was a long pause after his plea, the only sound the crackling of the torches and the fluttering of the wind through the trees. Naruto realized that they must be dealing with some kind of hollow that can control others, the only explanation that he could stomach for Miyako's behavior. He did not know all the details about this hollow, but he trusted those that did.

"Very well," Ukitake affirmed. "I shall go with you."

Everyone had not expected that. "What? You, Captain?" asked Kaien, surprised. It was not like Ukitake to get involved, considering his sickness.

"What about your illness, sir? You should let me come along instead, let me back him up!" exclaimed Naruto, not wanting Ukitake to risk himself getting into this kind of danger.

"I appreciate your concern, Naruto, but I will be heading with Kaien." He turned to the blonde and Rukia. "I want you two to come as well. Sentaro, Kiyone, seal off this area and call the squad to battle stations!"

"Understood, sir!" the two said together, bowing slightly.

"Go!"

* * *

The four of them suddenly stopped, looking apprehensively at something lying over the branch of a tree. It was almost too dark to see.

"What is that?" asked Naruto, his hand on his hilt.

"Kaien," the captain murmured, as the lieutenant moved automatically to go and investigate. He barely sensed quick enough that several red appendages shot toward him, snapping like a whip through the air. The shinigami leaped into the air, stopping aboard a thick branch and the others joined him.

The object in question fell off of the branch, swaying in the wind. Naruto realized that it was Miyako's shihakusho, and it looked like it might still have something inside.

The hollow's body emerged from it, crawling on strange limbs that looked far too human for a hollow. The creature had strange red hair and a mask that was decorated with orange and green markings, two deep black holes for eyes. It did not seem powerful, but Naruto knew not to take that lightly.

"I'll go first, sir," Rukia said quietly, putting her hand on her zanpakuto. "I'll scout out what it's abilities are."

Naruto shook his head, about to comment that if Miyako could not handle this creature, what chance did Rukia have? But the lieutenant stepped forward, silencing any opportunity for them to argue.

"Captain, I beg of you. Permission to go fight it alone."

Another moment of hesitation, and Naruto disagreed with this plan vehemently. "Go."

Lieutenant Shiba only needed that bit of confirmation from the captain. He blasted forward, leaves churning through the air from his just his amount of speed. He stepped down, his hand always prepared to draw his sword.

The hollow laughed. _"So you're the first, eh? You're nothing but a boy!"_

Kaien did not comment, but instead looked toward the shihakusho of his now dead wife, her sword lying scattered on the ground. "Tell me. How many shinigami have you devoured so far?"

_"Ah,"_ the hollow said, relishing in the deaths of his enemies. _"How many?"_ It laughed again. _"Sorry, boy! I don't keep track of such trivial things!"_

"Have you ever, even once, had any regrets about it?"

_"That's such a stupid question. I have a heart, you know. Just like you. There isn't a single night that I don't have regrets about eating a shinigami. Even now, I'm having regrets about that woman shinigami."_ The hollow paused. _"I regret having not eaten the rest of her!" _

"So you controlled her and made her kill her comrades?" the shinigami interrupted, the hollow's maniacal laughter breaking through the night. Naruto wanted nothing more than to interrupt, just to shut that stupid hollow up.

_"Controlled her?"_ It found the statement hilarious. _"Oh, not the way you're imagining! I was actually inside her body and then I ate my way outside of her, returning to the form you see now! Too bad you didn't get to see that part!"_

Kaien's reiatsu intensified in anger, so powerful that it started to become visible in an aura around him. He drew his blade and prepared to strike.

_"Wanna see what it's like yourself? Come on, boy! I'll eat you too!"_

In that moment, the Shiba slashed outward, slicing two limbs of the creature clean off. The monster screamed, but Kaien didn't stop. He latched onto one of the hollow's red hair-like tentacles.

_"You're fast, boy. But not fast enough!"_

**"Rankle the seas and the skies, Nejibana!"**

There was a surge in spiritual pressure and Naruto was excited; he had never seen Kaien's shikai in action. But as the sword started to change, it suddenly melted and vanished, shocking everyone watching.

"What the hell?!"

_"You fell for it, boy! Once every night, the first one to touch my tentacles will see his zanpakuto destroyed!"_

Another red tentacle snapped toward him like a whip, and he threw up his arms in defense as it smashed against him, knocking him back.

"Kaien! Get away!" Rukia yelled, scared for his life now.

Naruto's hand inched toward his sword, but when the Kuchiki girl actually grabbed her hilt, Captain Ukitake stopped her.

"Captain? Kaien has been disarmed! We have to help him!"

"But if we were to step in now, what would become of Kaien's pride? Even if by going to his aid, you were somehow successful in saving his life, the cost of such an act would certainly be the death of his pride forever!"

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "That doesn't make any sense at all!"

"Exactly! What good is a man's pride if he's dead?!" Rukia exclaimed.

Kaien threw himself backwards, holding out a palm and firing a Shakkaho, the creature withstanding the blast of fire-like reiryoku. He dodged another counter-strike, and Naruto wished that Ukitake would let him join the fight!

"Listen now, and remember these words," Ukitake began. "There are two kinds of battles, and those of us who are warriors and have chosen to fight those battles must always be aware of the difference between the two.

"There are battles that are fought to protect lives. And there are battles that are fought to protect honor."

As Ukitake continued, Kaien flash-stepped to the top of the creature's back, ripping away at a tentacle with a reiatsu-enhanced grip.

"Right now, Kaien is fighting with all his heart and soul to defend honor, that of his men who died and his own honor! And above all, his beloved wife's honor!"

Rukia eventually brought her hand down from her hilt, but Naruto kept it at the ready, for a reason that he could not easily identify. He knew that Ukitake had a point and that Kaien was a man with that type of honor code, but Naruto was not sure that his own was that black and white. If it were him in this situation, however, he was not sure how he would react or if he would want others to help him.

_"What's the matter, shinigami? Too full of yourself to ask your friends to help you?" _The hollow's mask was covered in blood, its limbs dripping crimson.

Kaien sighed, breathing heavily. "Shut up! I don't need a sword or anything else to handle scum like you!"

_"We'll see about that. Because now I'm about to do unto you, as I did unto your beloved and delicious wife!"_ The hollow paused, confused. _"I'm going to play you like a puppet from inside, and against your will! You'll slay your comrades with your own hand!"_

Without warning, the creature's tentacles bunched up in a dome-like shape, and then burst outward, an explosion of reiatsu accompanying them. Kaien raised an arm to defend himself, but as soon as the tentacles reached him, they burrowed quickly into his arm, following his veins until every piece of tentacle was sealed within the shinigami's body.

Naruto gasped at the implications, as he watched the rest of the hollow's body disappear. Kaien lowered his arm, standing solidly.

"Lieutenant... Kaien?"

_"Yes? What is it, girl?! What do you want?" _The lieutenant turned, making Rukia and Naruto gasp. Around Kaien's eyes were orange markings, his sclera black as though he did not even have eyes. The hollow had taken over his body.

Rukia repeated herself, questioning the situation. Naruto was not sure how to react to this, but his hand did not leave his blade.

_"What is with you, girl? Why do you keep repeating my name? Are you that worried about me?"_ The creature looked up, forcing everyone to look into the blackness of his soul. _"Or are you in love with me!?"_

The hollow in Kaien's form shot forward, leaping up to their level. "I guess if you really love me that much, then maybe I should eat you first!"

Naruto and Ukitake both moved at the same moment, but Ukitake beat him to it, blocking the hollow's attack with the silver of his zanpakuto inside the jaw of the beast. Naruto made a motion to attack Kaien's lower body, but Ukitake pulsed his reiatsu in their direction.

"No! Get away, both of you! Run away, back to the barracks! Warn the others!" The captain warned, pressing forward. "Naruto, that's an order!"

The two shinigami nodded, rushing backwards. Naruto hated the idea of leaving, knowing that he was capable of fighting. He worried about the captain's safety, knowing all about his sickness and how troubled it was. What if it interrupted him from fighting?

"C'mon, let's hurry back!" Naruto shouted to a crying Rukia, and Naruto was curious for a moment if the hollow had been right. Had Rukia actually loved Kaien? "Maybe someone back at the barracks knows a way to save him, rid him of that hollow!"

Rukia looked at him hopefully, that idea spurning her forward. Naruto kept his spiritual senses open, and he felt the familiar pressure of Ukitake in battle. But suddenly, it started to drop and Naruto's eyes widened.

Without warning, he turned around quickly, using as much speed as he could. Rukia would notice but might still be safe. Naruto had to help, had to help his captain because of the illness. That was the only explanation for the sudden drop in spiritual pressure.

Naruto returned to the scene, Ukitake kneeling on the ground coughing up blood and hollow-Kaien heading toward him.

"You were supposed to get away from here, you idiot!" Ukitake yelled, standing up despite the pain.

The shinigami readied his blade, his lieutenant diving toward him from the sky. Naruto leapt into the air to meet him, avoiding the red tentacles spitting from his arms and mouth and slashing into the man's side.

He stayed in the air as his lieutenant tried to recover, falling through the air. Naruto made to attack again, but as Kaien hit the ground, the trauma knocked him unconscious or worse. Naruto dropped back down, landing near the profusely bleeding shinigami and wishing there was something that he could do; his healing Kido was not great at all.

"Naruto! End him quickly!" Ukitake yelled, coughing again and stopping completely. "There's... nothing you can... do!"

Naruto pleaded with the captain with just a look, but the white-haired shinigami shook his head, coughing into his hand.

Something latched onto his foot suddenly, and Naruto tried to yank his foot away. The hollow forced Kaien's obviously dead body forward, attacking Naruto and attempting to spread the tentacles to inhabit the blonde's body. Naruto knelt down reflexively and stabbed, his zanpakuto embedded in the lieutenant's heart.

Finally, Kaien's body lay at peace.

"What!? No...! No, you said we could save him! You said we could save Lieutenant Kaien!" Rukia, appearing from the forest at the wrong moment, shouted angrily, her tears streaming down her face. "And then you stabbed him!"

Naruto saw her pained expression, rain starting to pour. "But he was going to kill me! Us! All of us! I just... reacted!"

"But you said we could help him! You... you promised we could save him! You said it! You said it, Naruto!"

She broke down, crying hard over his body. Ukitake stumbled up to the scene, wiping his hand with his coat and trying to control his weakness.

"Captain! Use your healing Kido!" Rukia begged through tears, her words barely coherent. "We can save him! Revive him, rid him of the hollow!"

The captain shook his head, his duties preventing his emotions from getting to the better of him. "It... it was impossible to save him. Killing his body was the only way to kill the hollow, so that it could not hurt anymore innocent lives, Rukia. We could not have separated the hollow's soul from Kaien's soul, because they were both made of spiritons... I'm sorry."

Rukia continued to cry, desperately and emotionally. Naruto watched the scene, pulling his zanpakuto from the man's chest and wiping it carefully on the grass. He sheathed it, realizing that he would never be able to look at Kusaritane again without remembering the blood that stained it today.

* * *

"How are you feeling, Naruto?"

He looked up to see the small brunette, her hair wrapped in bun. He embraced her as soon as she sat down beside him on his bunk. "Guilty. Hurt. I... I should have not listened to the captain. I should have intervened with the fight, and none of this would have ever had to happen."

"You can't blame yourself," Hinamori said, rubbing his back lightly. "Naruto, you have to put this past you. Captain Aizen always says that anything can happen and that no one is at fault in situations like this. He's always there to remind me that life can throw us for surprises, but that we should prepare ourselves mentally for the worst."

Naruto nodded, wiping away the first tear that he had even had over this. "Thank you, Momo."

She smiled, glad to see him looking slightly more positive. "Now, let's get up and go get something to eat. I'm famished because I didn't have a chance to eat after the funeral."

He smiled, letting her yank him up and then following her out of the door together. As they passed Sentaro and Kiyone, both were crying over the loss of two of their greatest friends; Naruto could smell the sake, but he didn't mind. But when they saw Momo and Naruto walking side by side, Kiyone perked up.

"Oh, look at the newest couple!"

"It's about time, Naruto!" Sentaro cried out, laughing at the implications.

"Shut up! We're not a couple!" Naruto cried back, but Momo could only laugh, choosing not to comment. The blush filled both of their faces.

As they finally exited the barracks, far to the left was Rukia, sitting on a bench and watching the stream pass by. She didn't notice them pass, her mind occupying her own little world. Momo frowned.

"How is she doing?"

"Not good," he replied. "Worse than anyone in the squad. She's still angry with me for making the final blow, and she hasn't talked to me since right before the funeral. She asked me to help her train, but now she won't even speak to me."

Momo looked solemn. "She'll come around soon enough. She can't be angry with you forever, right?"

Naruto simply sighed, thinking about everything that had happened. Both the lieutenant and the third seat were gone, leaving Naruto as the acting-lieutenant for now. He had lost two great friends to the same hollow, and if he had been stronger and more willing to act on his own, he could have prevented this tragedy.

He'll carry that regret with him always. The regret that he had not acted, had not pushed hard enough to save them, to save Kaien.

* * *

**Hopefully, you are not too upset with me for taking this long! Sorry for the long wait! I would have had this down faster, but I originally had a different story to tell and was going to put off Kaien's death one more chapter, but decided that that other story will work better later. **

**Shikamaru's zanpkauto Kakusayami translates loosely to "Darkness Divide." **

**Also, you'll learn the identity of the person the first section of the chapter is referring to soon enough! **

**I hope that you enjoyed it! Leave me a review if you enjoyed it! I love hearing from you guys, good or bad! **


	8. 08: Cost

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties. **_

* * *

_**.:08:.  
Cost**_

The place was dark and dreary, the room obscured with shadows. The only light in the dank room was one small torch.

"Is it nearly time?" the girl's voice asked, her thoughts filled with worry and scattered feelings that did not feel like her own.

"It _is_ time, Milady," a male explained, kneeling before her. "We have nearly gathered enough to expand and destroy the Dangai."

The girl looked toward the window, the moon shining down on her face. "Are we certain this is the right thing to do?"

"Are you expressing doubts?" the man asked, suddenly surprised by her questioning.

She shook her head. "No, if this is how to get to him, then we need to go through with it. We're... only going after him, right?"

The man nodded. "Of course, Milady. With your power, we'll storm the Seireitei and bring him here, as you requested."

"Good. Are we sure that he'll know where to find it?"

The white-haired man paused, wondering. "Well, we can't know until we try."

"That is all, Ganryu."

The man bowed as he left her room, heading out to finish the preparations. He left the grungy room feeling newly confident.

* * *

The bar was loud and filled with laughter, far after the sun went down that night, but they were all rather excited and could barely contain their high-spirited celebration. They shared quite a few drinks, much to Matsumoto's enjoyment and Toshiro's annoyance. But it was all in good fun, Naruto figured, enjoying a few drinks of his own but not too much.

_You do know that when you're incapacitated like this, you're more likely to become injured in battle. _Kusaritane had a warning tone.

_Yeah, yeah, but we're not battling anyone right now. We're celebrating! Toshiro's a captain now!_

He could feel his sword's nagging continue, but did not press it, turning his attention to the others. He wished that everyone could have been there, but some were busy with missions or paperwork at the moment. Samui had an unhealthy appreciation for sake, and she and Rangiku were laughing and carrying on. Shikamaru was only slightly buzzed, but he was already fighting off sleep. Momo sat next to Naruto, not having touched a drink once despite the blonde's urging.

"C'mon, Momo, try a little bit. A little drink won't hurt! Our Lil'Shiro is a captain now! We gotta be excited for him!"

"That's Captain Hitsugaya to you, Uzumaki."

The lieutenant smiled at the silver-haired captain, who was seemingly annoyed with all the attention but was still in a pleasant mood. "I am excited for you, Lil'Shiro. I just don't think that Captain Aizen would approve."

_That man has some sense,_ Kusaritane offered in the back of Naruto's mind, but he ignored it.

"The captain's not here, Momo! Why do you let him control your fun?"

Rangiku noticed the train of questioning, her drunkenness showing in her every movement. "I know, right? Captain Aizen shouldn't be able to influence a woman of your caliber, Hinamori! If anything, you should be influencing _him_!"

Both women laughed, and after a few more moments of trying to get her to agree, she finally nodded and poured a glass.

"Cheers to Lil'Shiro, for finally becoming a captain!" she said jovially, before taking a drink of her own and twisting her face at the taste. The sight only made Naruto laugh even more.

There was a change in the air, however, suddenly attracting everyone's attention. Naruto stood at the ready, the other shinigami in the bar noticing the disturbance as well. The civilians did not seem to notice. "What's going on?"

There was a scream from somewhere outside, and everyone practically jumped from their seats. You could hear a pin drop in the room.

"That's not a good sign," Samui deadpanned.

The shinigami rushed outside, where they found several shocked civilians. An entire crowd was forming, all gasping when they looked to the sky and saw quite the sobering sight.

It seemed as though the sky had been split open as far as the eye could see, an almost portal-like imprint of some other place. Naruto had no clue what was happening, but it did not seem like anyone else did either. The tension in the atmosphere was thick, a feeling not unlike spiritual pressure rooting in everyone's bones.

Captain Hitsugaya turned to them quickly, preparing to head out. "Head to your barracks and inform the other captains. Something terrible is happening."

"Maybe Research and Development knows more?" suggested Shikamaru, who still looked like he was barely awake but highly interested.

"Most likely," the silver-haired captain explained, flashing out of sight followed quickly by his lieutenant, Matsumoto.

The group split up to their respective squads, but before Hinamori left, Naruto nodded to her. "Be careful, Momo!"

She smiled at him and nodded back, using Shunpo to flash through the city.

Naruto wished that he could air-step through the Seireitei, knowing that it would be faster than going over the rooftops, but he would have to settle. He leapt from roof to roof, heading to the Squad Thirteen barracks. A Hell butterfly would likely explain what they were to do or what information they would learn, but Naruto knew heading to the barracks would be the best choice.

There was a flash on his spiritual radar, and Naruto drew his blade just in time to parry a white blade's strike to his back. He leapt backwards, landing on a rooftop and looking at his potential enemy.

The creature was very skinny, pure white with twin blades for arms, almost like a praying mantis. The head of the enemy was bright pink, shaped like a pin. It did not resemble anything he had ever fought before, but he still wondered if it was a hollow or not.

The creature did not follow him, righting itself and stepping into a fighting stance. Before he could say or do anything, more of the white creatures fell from the sky, until there were six of them, each identical down to the very weaponized claw.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, reading its movements although his mind was rather cloudy, his body feeling a little too riled up by the alcohol. "Who are you? What do you know about what's going on?"

The six creatures did not answer, suddenly rushing at him. He cursed under his breath and threw up his blade, blocking one strike and snapping his right leg outward, kicking another one at least fifteen feet away. He realized they were going to overwhelm him, so he shot backwards, slashing outward and slicing the arm off of one of them.

More fell from the sky, numbers approaching him. He had no clue what was possibly going on, but the creatures continued to fall through the mirage and head right for him, only momentarily disturbing the barrier over the Seireitei.

He immediately raised his sword. **"Hado Number Fifty-eight: Tenran!" **He let go of his blade, spinning it like a propeller, before grabbing it again and unleashing a tornado-like blast of wind.

He supplied as much of his reiatsu as he could, strengthening the onslaught of wind and throwing the white creatures backwards. He must have caught half of them in the attack, but the other half continued to hurl toward the blonde, ignoring the spell and going around it.

He flashed forward with speed, slashing through another three before getting caught once more in the sheer numbers. They were crowding him, the nearest ones slashing at him and it was all he could do to keep himself alive.

He raised his spiritual pressure as high as he could, pulsating it as a signal for the captain or anyone else nearby to notice and come to help. The sheer numbers were overwhelming, more and more dropping from the sky with each passing second. Why were they only attacking him, and why him at all? What were these things?

**"Take root and sprout, Kusaritane!"**

His sword transformed with a flash of light, instantly becoming the gauntlet on his right arm with a dagger extending from his wrist. He did not want to use his shikai in this situation, but these bastards kept coming.

He leaped to the side to avoid another strike, parried a second with his forearm, and then stabbed his arm forward to cut into the gut of one of them. He swept his foot outward, knocking another to the ground and then stabbing into its chest.

He jumped as high as he could and then extended the chain, wrapping around three of the creatures and pulling them together quickly. **"Shakkaho!" **A red fireball collided with the three trapped enemies, causing them to disappear.

He landed on another rooftop, retracting the blade before extending it again. He stabbed into the shoulder of an enemy, whipped his arm to the right, and then flung it into another. There were still so many that they followed after him, ignoring the chained blade and heading right for him.

He cursed and knocked a bladed hand away from his face using the arm bracer, kicking at its waist and then firing a Sokatsui for added affect. His dagger retreated, returning to the holster.

"Where the hell do these guys keep coming from?" His blade began to spin at his request, before firing off and becoming enshrouded with orange, spinning light. Like a streaking missile, the attack headed right for the enemy. **"Rasentane!"**

It exploded into a crowd of enemies, spiraling orange energy forming a sprout-like shape before dissipating. His blade returned to his hand and he shot into the smoking cloud, knowing there would still be several after that attack.

"Not bad."

The voice shocked him to his core, and when the smoke cleared, a white-haired man wearing dark green armor and a scar across his left eye appeared.

"Who are you?" he asked, thankful for a moment that the creatures had stopped their onslaught the moment the man appeared.

"Ah. But see, that's the question I have for you," the man explained, drawing his blade and streaking toward Naruto. The shinigami braced himself, the forked part of his dagger blocking the enemy's katana.

"I'm not going to answer that! Call off this attack and surrender your weapons! You're ridiculous if you think you can attack the Seireitei like this!"

"Attack?" asked the man, confused. "This isn't an attack."

In one instant, the creatures converged on the blonde from all angles and overwhelmed him. The man smirked as Naruto tried to struggle but was unable to escape their grasping bodies and attacking.

"This is a kidnapping." The man raised his hand, energy gathering on the end of his fingertips as the white creatures were gathered into it like wisps of smoke.

Naruto raised his spiritual pressure once more, in part to shove them off and to attract any allies to save him, but it was his last conscious act. The light of the enemy's Kido-like attack collided with his chest painfully, before spreading until he was surrounded with an opaque liquid. It held his arms down, numbing every inch it touched until he could no longer escape. The stasis liquid covered his face until there was nothing he could do but let the darkness take over him.

* * *

The SRDI was buzzing with activity, every single computer monitor and scanner trying to find out what was happening. Third Seat Akon was busy flipping through files anxiously, sweat pouring from the tiny horns on his head.

"Status report?" shouted the Captain, annoyed by their slow-moving minds.

"It appears that this is not some type of illusion. The Dangai Precipice World is receding, creating a gateway into the World of the Living and destabilizing the boundaries between the other worlds!" reported a squad member reading a display on a screen.

"What is the cause?" asked Kurotsuchi, his interest piqued.

"A new dimensional space has appeared in between the World of the Living and the Soul Society, and it seems to be expanding!"

"Expanding?" asked the Captain of Squad Twelve and the leader of the SRDI. "Interesting. The implications... this is remarkable. Does anyone know the parameters of such a space?"

Third Seat Akon pulled out a folder and his eyes widened with shock. "It's the Valley of Screams, sir! It seems to have come into being once more."

Mayuri's eyes widened, his mind spinning as he thought of what that could mean. "Of course! A space such as this could expand until the worlds collide! The image in the sky is the World of the Living's reflection!"

"What do we do, sir?"

Before he could respond, another member suddenly stood. "Strange reiatsu that seems to have stemmed from the Valley of Screams has appeared in the Seireitei, seemingly passing through all our defenses! It swarmed in one area, multiple signatures, before disappearing into the dimensional space once more!"

"A reiatsu signature from our databases seemed to pulsate multiple times before disappearing," said another report. "The signature of one Naruto Uzumaki, the Fourth Seat of Squad Thirteen. He seems to have come into conflict with these mysterious energy signatures, before vanishing on his own a mere moments ago."

"Alert the other squads," the captain ordered. "And don't stop monitoring the situation, you fools."

* * *

The moment she returned to her barracks, Momo suddenly stopped, her spiritual radar pinging. "Naruto?"

She nearly turned around on impulse to rush after him, but at that moment, Captain Aizen opened the door to the barracks, catching her attention. "Momo, I've been waiting on you. Come inside, there's news from Squad Twelve."

She frowned, gesturing slightly. "I think Naruto may be in trouble, Captain. Can you handle the briefing on your own, while I go and check on him?"

The captain smiled almost sadly, his normally cheerful aura shifting to something that seemed very solemn.

"I think I would rather you stay here," he said with a small voice. "It's... far too dangerous out there."

She looked back over her shoulder before nodding, following him inside. Who was she to not trust her captain's word?

The squad was already assembled before the two of them, Captain and Lieutenant of Squad Five. Everyone was apt to listen to Aizen's words, worried about the strange hole in the sky and the ominous feeling in the atmosphere.

"It appears that a dimension that was long thought destroyed has appeared again in the Dangai Precipice World," Aizen explained. "It's called the Valley of Screams, and it's the home of the Blanks. Blanks are normal souls that have had the memories of their past lives removed; in fact, Blanks constitute the entire dimension."

"So Blanks are like us? Aren't we souls without memories?" asked a squad member on the second row.

Aizen nodded. "It's thought, but not understood exactly, that this removal of memories is what makes Blanks powerful." He paused to let them consider that a moment. "This dimension is expanding, pushing on the boundaries between the World of the Living and the Soul Society. The Dangai is a limited space, and as the Valley of Screams expands, the World of the Living and the Soul Society are being pushed together. Before long, they will collide with a powerful explosion that will instantly destroy both worlds."

The shock spread through the crowd, and Momo could hardly believe it herself. Could this possibly be true? Could the Dangai Precipice World vanish, and with it, the boundaries between the worlds?

"What do we do, Captain?"

The leader of Squad Five smiled. "Your duties, for the most part, will not change. As the communications squad, you may be inclined to deliver messages to the other barracks, but most of you will act no different. Other squads are attempting to appropriate a contingency plan for how to stop it, but for now, we have no ideas."

Murmurs spread through the crowd, but eventually, Aizen ended the meeting. Everyone left for their respective posts, but before Momo could leave, the brunette man stopped her with his soft voice. "Momo, I would like a word."

"Yes, my captain?"

"It's about Naruto Uzumaki. Just before the start of this meeting, Squad Twelve sent word that he has been kidnapped by the enemy."

"Enemy?!" She exclaimed, her mind racing and her heart accelerating. "Naruto was kidnapped?"

Aizen nodded. "Yes. We suspect, due to the coordination of the enemy, that there is someone behind this. And for whatever reason, this entity needs Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

The room was very dark when Naruto opened his eyes finally, only a small candle-like torch lighting the space. He instinctually reached for his sword, but it was sheathed and lying against the wall several feet away. His arms and legs were still surrounded in the Bakudo-like spell, numbing all of his extremities. He wracked his mind for a counter-solution.

"Ah. You're awake."

Someone stepped out in front of him, walking toward him carefully and gracefully. A girl with brunette hair tied back by a yellow ribbon, her eyes a dull orange; she was wearing a bright white kimono with a yellow sash. She looked regal, very beautiful, but he had to be careful around her. She was likely the reason he was even here.

He did not say anything, watching her intently. His eyes never left hers, while still paying attention to any sudden moves. He was completely at her mercy.

She moved closer to him, so close they were mere inches apart, she looking directly into his eyes.

"It_ is_ you after all. The one from my dreams, my memories," the girl said, making Naruto wonder. "You're Naruto Uzumaki, aren't you?"

His eyes widened, his initial thought to ask how she knew his name. But if he had been captured, it made sense that he had been singled out with his identity.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

The girl seemed surprised for a moment that he managed to say anything at all, and he wondered if she had thought he was mute before now.

"My name is Senna," the girl explained, her smile widening. "And I captured you because I want to know who you are."

"You already know my name," he countered. "Why don't you just let me go?"

"There is more to who people are than just their names, Naruto. We are the product of many past experiences, our memories linking each event to the next and ensuring our continued existence."

"Then what do you want me for? Why do you even know who I am?"

Before this girl could answer, a door behind him opened and the white-haired man from before walked into the room. "I see that you have awoken, Uzumaki. My name is Ganryu. Do you need anything in your stay here?"

His anger bubbled up to the surface. "Need anything? You people attacked me! What makes you think I'll stay here?"

"We only needed to ensure that you would come, and we knew that you would not come willingly."

"You got that right," he retorted.

Ganryu only smiled. "We need you first for a simple purpose, Uzumaki."

"And that is?"

"We need you to remember who you were."

* * *

Toshiro touched down in the Squad One barracks, nervous about his first meeting as a captain, but even more worried about one of his best friends. He had learned not too long ago that Naruto had been captured by the enemy, and it had taken every bit of reasoning he could muster not to rush to save him.

Not all of the other squad captains had arrived yet, Toshiro preferring to be early rather than late. The situation was urgent, and they needed to figure out exactly what they could do in this situation. The encroaching Valley of Screams could destroy all worlds if they did not do something.

Komamura, Tousen, Ichimaru, Aizen, Soifon, and Kuchiki were already present, their expressions varied about the coming threat. The petite captain of Squad Two tried to be as pristine as possible, but failed miserably with the scowl on her face and the slightly anxious fidgeting; Toshiro knew from experience that she was itching to fight, to end this before it escalated to something more than it was. Byakuya Kuchiki was nearly the exact opposite, the image of perfect nobility; so noble and handsome that it made Toshiro's skin crawl thinking about it. Aizen, Momo's captain, had a kind, calming expression that seemed to make everyone feel much more at ease.

Other captains slid into the room after Toshiro, and the more he saw, the more he felt like he didn't belong among these powerful men and women. From the brute force of Captain Kenpachi to the stately appearance of Naruto's captain Ukitake, he could not help but stand a little straighter for the proceedings.

When the old man appeared at the head of the pack, the thirteen captains bowed lightly, before he slammed his cane on the ground. The sound was nearly deafening.

"The Soul Society and the World of the Living are in grave danger," the man began, cutting straight to the point. "The Valley of Screams is continuing to spread, and the space between worlds is diminishing. Captain Kurotsuchi, do you have a report as to how long it will be before it becomes irreversible?"

The captain of Squad Twelve scoffed. "Of course. If something is not done, the worlds will collide in just under three hours."

Murmurs spread throughout the meeting, and only Kuchiki and Komamura kept their expressions calm, the latter only because he didn't have a choice.

"Silence," the head captain said, slamming his cane against the ground once more. "We once eradicated the Valley of Screams from the Dangai Precipice World in the past. However, this situation is not quite the same. It seems that one of our own has been kidnapped, the Fourth Seat and Acting-Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen, Naruto Uzumaki. The organization of the enemy and the comparison of some spiritual pressure found at the scene suggests that the Dark Ones are involved."

"The Dark Ones?" asked Komamura, confused as to what that meant. Hitsugaya was going to ask the same question.

"They are an ancient clan that was exiled from the Soul Society many centuries ago," explained Captain Kyoraku of Squad Eight.

"The fallen house of Ryodoji was banished for trying to incite a civil war among the noble houses, and apparently, they found a way to survive in the hostile environment of the Dangai after all this time," explained Captain Kuchiki.

"So are we looking at descendents of the originals, or the actual originals?" asked Soifon, her fierce attitude apparent in her question. She seemed ready and capable to deal with this.

"I am wondering that as well," Captain Unohana added, her expression vague but kind. "It seems problematic if they found a way to survive this long within the Dangai, given the Cleaner."

"They likely found refuge within a primitive Valley of Screams," Ukitake explained. "It must have shielded them from the restrictive current of the Dangai."

"Not enough was found at the site of Naruto's capture that could say one way or another, and if I could get my hands on them, I could learn how they managed to survive after all these years," Captain Kurotsuchi explained. "Perfect research specimens... I'll have to procure a Blank as well!"

"If they're strong, I want in," Captain Kenpachi stated, smirking and thumbing his sword, making those closest to him a little nervous. Toshiro could feel himself literally begin to sweat at the sight.

"How do you suggest we handle this, Head Captain Yamamoto?" asked Gin, a sly smile ever present on his face. Even in these dire circumstances, nothing could present a threat to him.

"Given the situation, it seems that we will need to use the Kido Cannon to destroy the Valley of Souls once more, and all of those who reside within it. This is the order from Central 46."

Toshiro realized very quickly where he was going with this. "But that would destroy Naruto Uzumaki in the process." The blonde's captain had the same look of shock on his face.

"Yes, it would, Captain," added the captain of Squad Six, a pretentious tone leaking into his voice that suggested that he felt that Hitsugaya did not belong here. "Is it really justified to risk more from our squads in an effort to save him, in a mission that could destroy all of existence should we fail in the process?"

"I hate to agree with Kuchiki there, but it appears he is correct," Soifon added. "If we were to prepare the Kido Cannon quickly enough, we could destroy the dimension before any further damage is dealt and take out our enemies in one fell swoop."

Toshiro was in outrage, but he tried to remain calm. They would surely listen to reason, given the circumstances. "The death of such a high-ranking individual within the squads like Naruto Uzumaki could have much greater implications on your squad's morale, Captain Ukitake. Would it not be more beneficial to you to send a rescue team? And would it not tarnish the Thirteen Court Guard Squads' reputation if word spread that they destroyed their own soldier?"

"You might have a point, Captain Hitsugaya," Komamura agreed amiably, although he was still fiercely inclined to believe whatever the head captain's order was. "But if this is what Central 46 wants, then we cannot budge."

More murmurs spread, and finally, Squad Thirteen's captain spoke up. "Is there a logical way to save him_ and_ prepare the Kido Cannon?"

The others thought on this for a moment, but the Head Captain shook his head. "I do not believe that we can risk it. The time needed to prepare the weapon cannot be wasted, and we cannot shirk our other duties as well."

"I simply cannot accept this," Toshiro blurted out, not considering the tone or the implication. He had just passed the Captain's Proficiency Test a mere two days earlier, so no one expected him to blurt anything out.

Captain Kuchiki was the first to speak up among the shocked officials. "Do you have anything to add, Captain Hitsugaya? Perhaps you were not ready to be here."

"Yes. I do, and I do belong here," he stated, stepping forward a moment to let them know he was addressing them all.

"Naruto Uzumaki is one of my greatest friends, one of the few reasons that I am where I am today. He is strong, easily one of the strongest of the Lieutenant-Class shinigami in all of the Seireitei. He has great potential to be something more, and in a few years, he could be Captain-Class. You of all people, Captain Ukitake, should know this to be true; Naruto deserves to be saved."

After he joined the line of captains, no one responded immediately, not sure how to respond. Captain Kuchiki was the first once more, "It is simply not worth betting the safety of all worlds on the life of one man."

"Is that true, Byakuya?" asked Aizen, the brunette's glasses glaring and hiding his eyes. "Is it really worth sacrificing him?"

Everyone looked to the Head Captain for a declaration, sharing an earnest look with Toshiro. "Given the immediate emergency, I may be able to pull some clout with the Central 46. We will reconvene in a few short minutes and I will relay the decision."

* * *

The odd girl who had seemingly orchestrated this whole event never stopped looking at Naruto, bound and held with his arms and legs spread to an almost ridiculous degree. She seemed very content to marvel at him, and the blonde could not figure out why.

He was trying to come up with a strategy to escape, knowing a few techniques that might work on certain Bakudo to nullify them, but he could not be sure they would work on whatever type of spell was binding him.

The enemies seemed to be humanoid and had spiritual pressure, strong spiritual pressure at that, that could rival a shinigami. They seemed a little uptight, a little bit arrogant if he had to guess, and they had such nice clothing that Naruto wondered if they were actually royalty or at least high-class. It made him think of the Kuchikis and the Shibas, oddly enough. Although not so much the Shibas now...

Who were they? Who was this Senna person? What did they really want? What did they mean by making him remember who he is? How were they connected to the giant hole in the sky back in the Soul Society, or was this a separate case?

Questions, questions, questions.

"I've waited so long to finally meet you, Naruto Uzumaki. I've wanted to see what you really looked like, what you smelled like... I've been dreaming of you for so long! I need to know you!"

Naruto's eyes widened even further, swallowing carefully. She sounded too fanatical, too obsessed with him. It was creepy.

"That's not strange at all," he muttered under his breath, trying to get her upset. He was scrambling for ideas at this point...

She clasped her hands together and practically squealed under her breath, her large brown doe eyes settled directly on him. He shuddered under their gaze. "I've wanted you, Naruto. I fell in love with the man of my dreams, literally!"

She finally reached out and touched his cheek.

Naruto's entire body convulsed, his mind seemingly splitting in half in one instant. Images and sensations exploded in his brain, and he screamed.

_A large expanse filled with buildings of yellows and reds, trees dotted throughout the place and woods filling entire city blocks. A large tower with the kanji for "fire" sat directly in front of a mountain where four stone faces were carved literally from stone. He knew that he knew their names, but only one word came to mind at that moment. _

_Hokage._

_"I never go back on my word! That's my nindo!"_

_Sound of a thousand birds chirping at once... The heat of a hot springs bath... The words of a teacher seemingly long forgotten..._

He had no words for the experience he just had. He was literally speechless, as tiny details flooded his mind. He couldn't understand what was happening.

"Do you remember, Naruto? Do you remember your time in the village?" asked Senna, her eyes genuinely curious in an almost freaky way. He wanted to label her a crazed fangirl, but he couldn't remember why.

Naruto nodded mutely, still not sure how to comment. "What... what does this even mean? I don't... I don't remember everything. Just... just little things."

Senna smiled brightly and clapped excitedly. "Yes! That's amazing news! You'll only learn more over time!" She touched his cheek again, but there was no memory flash this time. He wanted to bite that hand off and escape, but he would likely only endanger himself if he couldn't find a way to escape.

"I am the Shinenju, the Memory Rosary of the Valley of Screams," explained Senna. "A culmination of all the Blanks' memories, the white entities that you fought earlier. I am composed of many, many memories that are not my own, but the strongest one was your memory, Naruto. Your memories seemed to fight to the surface of my attention, and I've become obsessed ever since."

Naruto let that information sink in. She had all of his memories from his past life. His earliest memories and his latest memories... Even of his death.

"How did you even track me down?" asked Naruto. "How did you know I was a shinigami within the Seireitei?"

Senna was about to eagerly answer when Ganryu stepped into the room once more, cutting her off. "So Naruto, how does it feel to remember yourself once again?"

"Interesting, I guess, but what's the real point? You guys endangered me, just to get me to remember? Why? Why did you want me to remember myself?"

The white-haired man looked toward the Memory Rosary before smiling. "We need your help finding something, and we thought your memories would allow us to track them down." He cleared his throat, staring at Senna. "Our informant has explained that they are preparing the Kido Cannon."

Senna's eyes widened. "What? They're going to destroy everything! They're destroying the dimension!" She stomped around, upset.

Naruto was caught on one detail.

They had someone on the inside of the Seireitei feeding them information. A mole within the Soul Society on the side of the Blanks. He was shocked at the implications.

"They are going to save me," Naruto said, breaking their concentration. "They are going to send a team of powerful fighters to rescue me, just you wait. They'll stop this whole operation."

Ganryu grinned. "That's the problem, Naruto. They aren't."

His heart skipped a beat, his throat tightening and his chest twisting in near agony. His muscles were burning from having to hold his arms up in this place for so long, but it could do nothing to stop the pain of this revelation.

"What? No, that's not true! You're lying!"

His mind flashed through the information he knew. The informant... could it have known about his disappearance and the orders to destroy this place, as well as Seireitei's plan to ignore the fact that he was still here and destroy the dimension anyway? He still did not know everything about the place he was in, but it felt too different from the World of the Living in a spiritual sense. Was it a separate dimension somehow?

What of the informant? How could the mole know so much high-profile information?

* * *

Momo could not sit still when she received the orders that the Kido Corps were preparing the use of the Kido Cannon, one of the most powerful weapons in all of the Soul Society. With the fear that Naruto could be caught from the blast, she had to hope that they would send a team in to find him.

Almost on cue, the child-like captain appeared before her. He seemed very upset and she had to know what was wrong.

"Central 46 denied the request to send a team into the Valley of Screams to save Naruto," he explained, his voice quivering as he said it. With anger? Sadness? Fear? Momo could not tell which. "They are going to go through with the plan to destroy the dimension to stop its expansion."

"What?" asked Momo, a tear forming in her eye. It felt like her heart had been ripped from her body. "Wha... they can't do that! They can't kill him... They can't!"

For a long moment, Toshiro and Momo held each other for comfort, tears streaming down the brunette's face.

"Why, Lil'Shiro? Wh-why would they want to hurt him?"

"They don't want to hurt him, Momo. They are doing what is best for the sake of both worlds. Naruto is simply a casualty to them, a speed-bump in the grand scheme of things."

She pushed away from him angrily. "How can they say that, Toshiro!? How can they act like he does not matter?"

He did not comment, trying to stay cool and collected.

"Let's rescue him! We can do it, you and I! We'll head to the Valley of Screams ourselves and save him!" Hinamori practically grabbed her sword and prepared to head straight there, but Toshiro shook his head and grabbed her wrist.

"Momo, you can't defy Central 46, as much as it pains me to admit that. We... we cannot risk ourselves and our career by trying to save him."

She collapsed to the ground and he held her, the two of them clutching each other for support.

It was not long before there was a flash of light from the sky, and the two of them looked up.

Out of the mirage in the sky came several white, spiraling tendrils of energy. They moved quickly, diving through the air above the city which should have been impossible. The reiatsu coming from each of them was thick and potent, powerful enough that they seemed able to cut right through the barrier-like dome over the city, a stunning flash of light.

Toshiro's eyes widened with shock. "They... they are heading for the Kido Cannon on Sokyoku Hill!"

* * *

_**All right, how's this? **_

_**This is the first chapter in a little miniature arc loosely based on Bleach: Memories of Nobody. I am not sure if it will be wrapped up next chapter, or if it will be one more chapter after that. But considering the subject matter of memories and the amnesia of Naruto and the other Naruto characters, it seemed like a cool idea to adapt it. This arc takes place about 15 years before the canon events start.**_

_**Again, it's loosely based on the movie so there are creative liberties with some things. Like, for example, the shape of the Blanks are more attuned for battle. And the overall goal as well as the characterization of Senna is a little different. You'll see it all make sense, so stay tuned! :D**_

_**Leave a review if you like! **_


	9. 09: Home

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**.:09:.  
Home**_

Beacons of spiritual pressure, foreign reiatsu, filled the area, even as far into the Squad Thirteen barracks as she was now. Captain Ukitake had arrived only a few moments before, but he had yet to address the situation.

Rukia could not believe that Fourth Seat Uzumaki had been taken, and she could not figure out why. Maybe he angered someone; it wouldn't be the first time someone held something against him. She knew that all too well.

The unseated shinigami sighed as she considered it, but when Kiyone burst into the room, she was shocked.

"Everyone, you have to see this! I've gotta get the captain!"

Rukia watched as she left, and a crowd of shinigami flocked toward the exit and the windows. Several people gasped, afraid.

White tendrils that seemed to be moving, like they were made of individual parts, dove from the sky, passing through the force field over the city with only a flash of light, like there was no resistance at all. They were headed toward Sokyoku Hill, and she really needed to know what was happening.

The white-haired captain appeared, a shocked expression on his face. He tried to quell the chaotic question shot at him, questions about invasions and enemies and Naruto's kidnapping. "All right, settle down. The orders we've received are to spread ourselves thin and continue to monitor the World of the Living. Everyone head to the Fifth Seats for your new assignments, because we still have a duty to protect the human souls of the dearly departed. The other squads are going to move against this attack, so you need to do a good job and support them by ensuring that the balance between the souls of the living and the souls of the dead is not tipped."

It took several more minutes before everyone calmed enough to start actively receiving new assignments and to communicate with those who were already on assignments in the World of the Living. Rukia, seeing the opportunity to finally help out and receive an assignment, approached but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Why not, Captain? I've not gone to the World of the Living in so long. He doesn't trust me to take care of myself, does he?"

Ukitake shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. Perhaps you can assist the others in organizing these assignments?"

She nodded slightly, crestfallen at the idea of her brother controlling her time on her own squad. The captain started walking toward his own quarters, when Rukia realized that she had to ask.

"What about Naruto? What are we going to do to save him?"

The man paused, his back turned away from her. "We... we can't do anything. I... I'll be waiting on the order to help in the fight if they need me, so otherwise, just help in whatever way that you can."

The petite shinigami frowned, her mind far too busy with worry and fear that everything would not end well. The battle over the Kido Cannon had already begun, with only the Kido Corps to guard it until others could arrive. In a few short hours, the worlds would cease to exist, unless they protected the cannon, used it against the Valley of Screams, and stopped its advance. In the process, they would kill Naruto Uzumaki. She was not sure how she should feel about this, but she felt helpless to stop any of it.

* * *

The Fourth Seat of Squad Thirteen was hungry, tired, and angry. He was still shackled together by the strange material, unable to escape but at least able to move legs. He had tried to use Shunpo to get away the moment that they had removed him from the building, but he was still so restricted, even with his own spiritual power, that he had stumbled and collapsed onto the ground, unable to get free.

He turned to look at the people around him, Senna and Ganryu as well as a contingent of Blanks. They looked fearsome, their reiatsu level strong enough that Naruto would still find trouble with them in large numbers, especially without his shikai.

He cursed how slow his bankai training was going, wishing that he had had it the moment this bastard had tried to kidnap him back in the Seireitei. He was convinced that they could not have stopped him if they had even tried.

Senna would not stop talking and asking him questions about his slowly growing memories. Naruto walked around with a constant headache, flashbulbs occasionally going off but the content did not seem major at all. Little bits and pieces of irrelevant information, and he didn't feel like they were changing him at all when learning them. Either way, he really wished that she would shut up.

Naruto kept quiet as they lead him through the World of the Living very slowly. They needed him for something, some information that would be necessary for their plans. Naruto knew enough to not divulge information, and they wouldn't kill him without learning it. The tricky problem was that he still did not know what they were looking for, and he had to play along at least a little bit so that they felt he was being cooperative.

He wished he had his sword, but his zanpakutou was still out of his reach. It had confused him at first that Ganryu would even bring it along, but maybe it was a gesture of good faith to him somehow. He wasn't going to question him about it, however, because knowing it was stashed in a pack on Ganryu's back was enough for him.

The area they were traveling through was filled with trees and rivers, the place seemed untouched by nature. Naruto was not sure why, but there were certain landmarks, trees or boulders, that seemed familiar to him. Had he been here in his past life?

Senna was still practically clutching him the entire time they had been trekking here, since they had used the Blanks to travel through the Dangai into the World of the Living. She seemed happy just to be near him, and it was hard not to find that a little endearing. She seemed to have a good personality, other than the fact that she was kidnapping people for her own benefit.

"And this was the site of a glorious battle!" she said as they passed into a clearing. It did not seem any different to him than any other clearing, but upon further inspection, he could see scars in the trees that were actually very interesting. And familiar. The ground seemed a little bit softer, and he realized he was remembering something about it.

_A redhead with some kind of freakish arm made of veined sand slammed a pink-haired girl into a tree, holding her there and taunting anyone to come forward. A boy with jet black hair shaped strangely in the front as opposed to the back crouched on a tree limb, his dark crimson eyes intensely staring at his opponent. _

The memory was so sudden, leaving him as quickly as it had come, but his attention was on the girl with pink hair more than anything. He did not see enough of her to be sure, but it was an astounding coincidence nonetheless.

_Sakura?_

* * *

The pink-haired Fourth-Seat of Squad Four blasted through the city, leading a medical team behind her in the hopes that they could help quell the rising chaos. A battle was brewing near Sokyoku Hill, where the Kido Cannon had been stationed.

She had responded as quickly the minute that Lieutenant Isane gave her the order through a Hell Butterfly. She had been worried about Naruto's capture, but she was more worried about how Momo felt about that.

Nevertheless, she shot through the city giving orders to her team members so that they would be prepared. The Blanks were spreading throughout the city from the top of the Hill like a plague, trying to stop any high-ranking officers from being able to pursue them. There were most likely injured civilians and injured squad members, and she knew she could help defend her team if need be.

The closer they got to the fighting, the easier it was to assess the situation. There were enough Blanks that it was like a horde or even a small army that had descended upon the city like a swarm of locusts, with the Dark Ones in command if her sensing skills were good enough to locate the reiatsu signatures.

She grimaced when she felt the conflicting signatures atop the Hill, and it was easy to tell there were a lot more of the enemy on top than the defenders. No one had anticipated an invasion of this rate, but the Kido Corps were not trained for combat to this magnitude. The most they could do was protect the weapon with barriers and attack the weaker enemies, while the Dark Ones were likely going to overwhelm them.

She tried to search for any familiar signatures, but none came to her mind. There was too much static as is, too much happening at once and it was nearly too hard to concentrate.

"You three, head to the north side, and you three to the south. Assist the fighters as much as you can, but your priority is the wounded. Is that clear?"

They replied with a resounding "Yes, ma'am," and split up. The remaining team looked at her expectantly, and Sakura merely rolled up her sleeves.

"We're going to push through to the top," she explained to the last three members. "The Kido Corps is up there, and we need to make a path for the others."

"What about Squad Eleven? Don't you think they're already trying?" asked the Seventh Seat.

She nodded, thinking of Tenten. "Yeah, they probably are. We can give them medical backup so they can keep fighting, as well as contribute to some of the fighting ourselves. Let's go."

* * *

The Fourth Seat of Squad Eleven hated the fact that her attacks were practically useless. The girl with panda ears for hair poured as much reiatsu as she could into each strike, a move taught to her by Ikkaku and even the Captain. But Tenten could not make a significant mark when each Blank she cut down was replaced by another.

"Damn," she cursed under her breath, sprinting up the side of the Hill and waving her katana through the air, knocking the falling Blanks away from her and into the mass of fighting below. "Good try, but you gotta do better than that."

She spotted Ikkaku, the bald Third Seat using his signature sword and sheathe style in the distance. He was making a little more impact than her, but even he was unable to stop them all.

She kicked a Blank away from her from her place on the zig-zagging staircase leading up to the top of the Hill, the white creature spinning through the air and exploding away from her. She cursed that nasty trick under her breath, hearing more exploding Blanks occurring all around her. These bastards had no honor.

She jumped off of the stairs and landed in the circle that Ikkaku had cut, joining him back to back. "You having any luck?"

He grunted his reply, throwing another enemy off of him as he did. "Not really. A lot of our squad is down, and the Captain has not appeared yet."

She frowned, using her entire body to shove another Blank into the crowd around them, and then slashing diagonally, the creatures dissipating from the process.

"What about Yumichika? Where is he?"

"He left the join the other side of the attackers, trying to bolster their confidence and help tear through the enemy line," the man explained. "I hate to say this, but I think these guys are too tough to stop holding back this much."

Tenten nodded, understanding completely where he was coming from. **"Transform, Yukai Datsu!"** There was a dark green flash of light and her sword melted into a hovering pile of twisting, liquid metal. She held the hilt in her hand, the only untransformed part, and swiped her hand through the air.

Instantly the blob of goo split apart, formed into spinning shuriken, and radiated outwards at a wide array of enemies. The spinning stars of metal embedded in the Blanks, eliminating them before returning to hover near her.

**"Extend, Hozukimaru!" **Madarame's blade shifted into a naginata seemingly made of wood, with a short blade on one end and a red tassel on the other end.

He flashed toward the enemy, stabbing and swinging relentlessly and destroying several Blanks in only a few moves of his weapon. He blocked one Blank's strike, his spear splitting into three. He then hit the white enemy with the pommel, throwing it backwards and stabbing into it with the blade.

Tenten formed an ornate battleaxe, attached to the hilt of her weapon, and used it both offensive and defensively. She eyed the battlefield as best as she could, trying to get a good idea on where she could break through the line and help others get to the top.

Pain erupted in her shoulder, a white mantis-like claw ripped from it. She angrily twisted, ignoring the pain and cutting the Blank's head off with one swing. "Shit," she muttered, trying to ignore the blood running down her back.

She heard someone scream to her right and turned to see a familiar figure running through Blanks with only Hakuda, snapping arms in half, punching through enemies until she started making her way up the staircase leading up to the top of the Hill. The pink-haired medical shinigami never even touched her blade once, making Tenten marvel at her willingness and her pure physical strength.

Tenten followed her, using her Shunpo to join her and shifting her axe into a long metal bo staff, using the weapon to throw enemies off of the stairs and into the ground below. "Need some help?"

Sakura nodded, looking at the many flights of stairs ahead. She punched at the light red head of a Blank, throwing it several feet backwards into another Blank before it dissipated. "Yeah, we need to let the others know to follow us. We need to make a formation that allows us to cover all sides and head up the staircase."

Tenten nodded, knowing that brute force was not exactly working at this point. "That's not a bad strategy."

"Well, over time, guys like Shikamaru start to rub off on you," she explained, hurling another enemy away from her and kicking a blade strike away from her body. "We just need to figure out a way to break through."

Tenten nodded, promising to figure out a way to let the others know about their formation plan. She looked toward the top of the stairs, where even more Blanks were coming. They just did not seem to stop flowing, their white forms descending on them like clouds of fog.

* * *

"Here, we're nearly there," explained Ganryu, making a motion for the entire contingent to stop. "Naruto, we need you to procure something for us. We already know what it is, but we believe that only you can handle this. You can do so in a trusting manner, if you will. Is this clear?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "It would be a little bit clearer if I knew what I was trying to get."

Senna frowned. "Don't be hasty, it will all make sense soon. Let's keep moving, the village is only a few minutes away."

_The village? _

Naruto's eyes widened at the prospect. Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He... he was finally going home. He did not know how to feel about that, let alone deal with it. It all suddenly clicked to him; they were taking him to the village where he grew up, the hopes that he would be able to understand the knowledge hidden within his memories and help them understand the memories themselves.

They passed through the last section of woods, entering a path that felt so familiar that his mind opened to the memory of he and a group of four others leaving hurriedly to pursue someone, four others who seemed to be around his age. Sakura appeared again in his mind, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she begged for him to save someone named Sasuke and bring him home.

He shook his head in response, finally looking forward. His eyes widened with shock.

The great doors that once served as the gate of the village were in shambles, the entire wall broken apart as far as the eyes could see and reduced to pure rubble. He could see the remains of the village ahead, very few buildings left standing. The large stone mountain that had once been a great monument to the Hokage was broken apart, the only face remaining a man wearing what looked to be bandages over his head and face.

Nothing about it looked like his former home. It did not feel right, did not feel normal. Why was it in ruins? Did this have something to do with how he died? Not even what was left of the Hokage Monument looked right, that face did not seem like it should belong.

"What?" asked Naruto. "What happened to this place?"

Senna looked toward him, frowning. "Aww, Naruto! Don't be upset! Your home might be gone, but there's no reason to fret! There are some survivors."

"Survivors?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon, I promise!" The girl turned to Ganryu. "Get rid of the Blanks for now, we don't want to seem like a threat." The Blank souls without memories were drawn into Ganryu's body, a perverse sight that left the blonde a little disgusted.

Naruto was still utterly confused. "A threat? How are these survivors going to see us as a threat at all? They're human, aren't they? They can't see us unless we have gigais."

Senna smiled. "Don't worry, they aren't exactly normal humans."

The shinigami was still all too confused at what they wanted him for. Why was he necessary for anything? What did they need really need him for?

"Naruto, your job is to help us infiltrate the group," Ganryu explained. "They'll trust you, and you can get them to trust us. Before you ask any more questions, I probably need to explain why you're here. If you don't cooperate, I'll kill the survivors of your homeland myself. Do you understand?"

* * *

Shikamaru really, really disliked major fighting like this, but his mind was working as hard as he could to ensure the safety of the formation. He could see the Squad Eleven Fifth Seat tearing through enemies as gracefully as the shinigami could, with more in Squad Eleven backing him up.

The Third Seat of Squad Eight had been working through several strategies but they did not seem to be working as well as he had expected. The sheer numbers of the enemy and their annoying ability to self-destruct had put down many, many members of his own squad and many other squads.

He assessed the situation and what squads were even present. Squad Four was there for medical support, spreading themselves thin across the entire battlefield to allow them to help many others. Squad Two and the Stealth Force were lying in wait, sending small sub teams through the cracks in the enemies defense, but even they were unable to cut through. Squad Three and Squad Five were both working to relay information to Squad One about the battle, while Squad Twelve waited with the SRDI to monitor the entire fight. Squads Six, Seven, and Eight were holding the defensive line of their own, while pushing outward slowly. Squads Ten and Eleven were like a massive combat force, causing chaos among the enemy, but both were limited without their commanders on the field. Squad Thirteen had yet to join the fight, trying to continue monitoring the World of the Living and ensuring that souls still migrated, even in the time of distress.

He sighed, knowing that the full force of more than half of the Squads should be enough to tear through these Blanks, but there were too many of them.

If the captains were to join the fight, he was certain that the tide would change. But he had to make due at the moment, and it was up to him to get the shinigami of Squad Eight around him to act as a cohesive fighting force.

When he was sure he had a possible plan, he stood up from where he had been kneeling, drawing his sword and getting their attention.

"Eight, to arms! Delta position, heavy hitters on the front and start moving toward the staircase." Those around him started relaying the orders to the others around him, and soon enough, Squad Eight had formed into an arrowhead like position, pointed toward the bottom of the stairs.

Shikamaru felt his was the best he could do in this situation, and it seemed to be handling it very well. He used his speed to deliver blows that they could hardly react to, before they could use the damage against him. He kept his mind focused on the task at hand, not letting it wander toward his inward worry for Naruto. The guy had a knack for getting out of sticky situations, that much was sure.

Somewhere nearby, there was the sound of electricity and even the boom of thunder, and everyone nearly gasped from the shock. The Third Seat of Squad Nine, Samui, was leading the charge, second only to Lieutenant Hisagi. Her dual-bladed Lightning-Type zanpakutou was arcing electricity through several enemies at once, each swing of the electric bolt-shaped steel sending arcing energy blasts into the Blanks. It was powerful, that much was sure.

Shikamaru was glad for their ability to use shikai, but his own shikai would not be useful here. He had to make due with what he could, binding enemies with Bakudo and attacking with his speed. He noticed that Squad Nine was adapting his own formation, heading toward the staircase from a different direction, and he couldn't help but realize that it wouldn't work. The stairs heading to the top were too narrow for that many enemies at once, and he had to signal to them not to go with that formation.

"Damn. How troublesome."

* * *

Naruto had not expected to see anyone in the village, the village that was clearly destroyed. He didn't know how it happened, but he had not expected to find anyone inside.

Despite that, he hid behind a collapsed building and looked around the corner, where he found some standing buildings, buildings that looked and reminded him of the clan compounds from when he was alive. He couldn't tell which clan this was, or even remember what the clans were, but nonetheless, there were some buildings that were still in good shape. Why would anyone live here in the ruined village in the first place?

His hands were no longer bound, but Ganryu was watching his every move and planned to kill the survivors if he gave even the slightest hint to escape. He didn't have his zanpakutou, and considering that the man could recall the Blanks at any given moment, he couldn't be sure he could use Kido or get away in time. He was momentarily bound by obligation to ensure that the survivors were safe, feeling tied to them despite not knowing who they were or remembering a lot about them. There were too many variables for him to react rashly.

Someone left a building on the compound, and Senna pointed the person out to him excitedly. He shot her hand down. "Quiet, we're waiting a moment, all right?" She frowned at him but did not pursue. "You're going to stay here."

The person was a very old woman holding a cane. If she were a shinigami, she would clearly be rivaling Captain Yamamoto, at least in appearance. She seemed well in shape, but she was frail and moving very slowly. He was not sure why she was moving all by herself, but Naruto needed to know who she was.

The lady turned just so that the sunlight caught her face, watching the blank, nondescript blue sky. Naruto looked toward it himself, glad to not have to look at the mirage of the Soul Society reflected over it. Karakura Town was directly below the hole in the sky, and they were rather far away from it at this point. It seemed like several hundred miles, but it probably was not that far.

He watched her eyes and her gray hair and realized with a fearful gasp that he knew who she was. The pale lavender eyes were unmistakable, but there was something new about them.

"Hinata?" he said aloud, Senna watching him closely as he said it. _I'm glad she lived that long._

"Go on, Naruto. You need to make your presence known; their eyes can see you."

He gaped at her. "Really?" That didn't seem like it should be right. "How is that possible?" Senna, however, was gone.

He took a deep breath and walked closer slowly, thinking she would notice his approach and possibly freak out. She was simply walking slowly from one house to the next, a kind of urgency in her step but unable to move quickly with the cane.

He passed near the front gate, preparing to leap over it, when she suddenly stopped and looked, her eyes activated.

His heart plummeted as he watched her, the shock slowly spreading across her face. She said something that he could not hear, but the blonde could only wave his hand and grin. He was consciously trying to do things that made himself seem trustworthy. Things that he did as a child.

"Naruto?" the woman asked, her voice not quivering at all.

"Um, hello, Hinata."

The woman looked at him with confusion for a moment, before shaking her head. "No, Hinata was my sister. I'm Hanabi. But this is not even possible. You're dea-"

"Yeah, I know. I'm dead," he explained, realizing this whole interaction might be harder than he thought initially. "Sorry..."

* * *

Sakura was halfway up the stairs, along with the rest of her planned formation, when she realized something was coming. Coming directly for her. She threw up her arms to block the strike and protect her face, but realized very quickly that it was not a direct attack. She only reacted just fast enough to catch the crossbow shot in mid-air, just before it hit her face.

The culprit was one of them, falling toward her from the sky and focusing all of her attention on her for some reason. The woman's purple hair was flowing behind her, the dark green and black armor looking rather expensive. Another crossbow bolt nearly impaled her shoulder, but she spun out of the way and leaped into the air to meet the woman, aiming a well-placed fist.

"Hand-to-hand? I was aiming for someone strong, but if this is all you have, maybe I should find another to attack!" the woman shouted with a grimace, as though this were a game. Sakura caught the next strike on her left bicep, the bolt grazing her and cutting into her skin.

The pink-haired shinigami ignored the pain, her fist colliding with the enemy in mid-air. Sakura then grabbed her, flipped both of their positions, and kicked off of the woman's body powerfully, to better control her fall.

Just after the crunch of the purple-haired Ryodoji's fall, she landed in a crouch, the ground cracking slightly under the reiatsu she was using to protect her descent. "Just who do you think you people are, attacking this place!? You're going to destroy the entire world! You're going to destroy all the worlds!"

The woman cursed as she stood up from the fight. Sakura was slightly lucky that the Blanks around her were busy, but she had a feeling that the Ryodoji in front of her knew how to control them and could change that very quickly.

"No, we are going to destroy every _other_ world!" the enemy explained, causing Sakura to question the woman's sanity.

"If you went through with your plan, do you not realize that you would destroy the Valley of Screams too?"

The woman screeched, strafing to the side and firing another crossbow shot at her. "You _would_ think that, wouldn't you!? Is that what they want you to know?"

Sakura rolled out of the way of the shot, before realizing there were three more, and soon she was trying to dodge an entire volley, somehow shot from that crossbow so rapidly that it was nothing. She had no idea how this weapon was working, but she could feel almost no reiatsu from it at all. Was it even a zanpakutou?

The medical shinigami held up a hand. **"Hado Number Thirty-three: Sokatsui!"** The pale blue wave of cackling fire erupted at the enemy, incinerating quite a few crossbow bolts, but the woman proved fast enough to slip out of the way of the attack, only receiving partial wounds on her left arm.

"You'll pay for that!" the woman cursed, aiming her weapon again and firing from afar once more. Sakura held both arms in front of her and quickly formed an incantation-less Enkousen, a barrier of spinning yellow energy blocking the projectiles. From there, Sakura pushed herself off of the ground toward the right, keeping her spinning shield in front of her for a few more seconds.

"You're not going to do anything to me," Sakura taunted. "I mean, you can try, but we're evenly matched. I'd even go so far as to say I'm better."

"Better?" the Ryodoji laughed. "Yeah, right." The purple-haired woman began to gather the white Blanks around her, their forms turning into a gaseous wisp of smoke before becoming part of her, and Sakura could easily tell that she was upgrading her power more and more with every Blank she absorbed. "I'll show you who's better!"

**"Incapacitate, Dokushibireru!" **Sakura shouted, her sword instantly changing shape until the shinigami was holding what looked like a thin rapier blade, the end tapering off to a point that reminded her of a needle on a syringe. She stabbed forward, her spiritual pressure ejecting from the end of the needle and colliding with the oncoming enemy.

"Wow, that hurt so much," the woman deadpanned, continuing her assault, forcing Sakura to evade the close-range shot of the crossbow. "You're really doing a great job here."

"Don't underestimate me!" Sakura yelled, chasing after the woman and knocking bolts out of the sky with swings of her needle sword. "There's a reason why my zanpakutou's shikai command is 'Incapacitate.' Any guesses as to why?"

The purple-haired woman nearly began to argue, but her words stuttered out of her mouth before they even began. "Wha.. what did..?"

"My zanpakutou emits a substance that inactivates the kinetic energy of your spiritons, which will slowly numb your entire body," explained Sakura, her expression much more calm now that she knew that she had won that particular fight. "You're going to have a lot of trouble moving from here on out. Eventually, you'll stop altogether."

The woman's face grew more and more upset and twisted, and without warning, she screamed and began absorbing as many Blanks as she could see, and Sakura's eyes widened. She jumped backwards a bit more, realizing very quickly that the woman had overpowered her shikai's effect, and was continually getting stronger and stronger.

Sakura made to use a Bakudo, but the spell did not even stick, no matter how much force she tried to add to it. Sakura realized that even if she wanted to use her shikai again, she couldn't until she had the time to build up again, and it probably would not work anyway.

"Damn it," she muttered.

* * *

Shikamaru cut into the left shoulder of a Blank, killing yet another as he finally reached a large overhang about three-fourths of the way up. The members of his squad were scattered up and down the staircase, fighting against the horde that just would not end. It was almost appalling to think that these creatures did not have a limit; he had surmised from the briefing that these Blanks constitute the entire Valley of Screams. Was it really possible the dimension was this large?

Something approached on his spiritual senses, and Shikamaru bolted from his position, dodging a shuriken just before it could hit him. The Squad Eight Third Seat twisted in time to see a pale man with dark hair approaching carrying a wide blade that almost looked like an extended arrowhead. The man swung but Shikamaru brought up his own blade to dodge it.

"Give up now and we won't kill you," the pale Ryodoji offered, but Shikamaru did not even comment, letting his sword swing do the talking.

He rushed backwards, glad there was enough room on the outcropping for a battle like this. The Ryodoji flicked his sword at him, unleashing another hidden shuriken from the blade that Shikamaru managed to block with his blade.

"It's going to take more than that to get me," the brunette muttered, his mind racing to figure out what this guy's deal is. He seemed almost nervous, afraid to get that close to anyone. More shuriken headed in Shikamaru's direction, and the evasive shinigami was able to avoid them fairly easily while he wracked his brain for a plan.

There were still quite a few troops fighting all around them, most concentrated on the stairs. Only a few yards behind him, the outcropping dropped off until there was nothing left but a great fall. The top of the cliff and the Kido Cannon were only about one hundred yards directly upward, and Shikamaru was not even sure that the Kido Corps had managed to hold out this long.

His opponent seemed to be a long distance fighter, but still had the capability to fight at a close-range. He figured that the guy was better at long distance, so the best thing to do was to find a way into the man's guard.

Shikamaru unleashed his shikai without the command, setting his plan into motion. His weapon faded into his shadow, and the Dark One was curious as to why he would throw away his own weapon. "You're probably going to need that thing against a guy like me, you know."

Nara laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right. I don't feel like learning Hakuda, and memorizing Kido is such a chore." Shikamaru dodged a group of shuriken, the ammo being replenished using the Blanks all around him as the materials. The Ryodoji would manipulate the white memory-less wandering souls into the weapon, creating another shuriken for each one.

Shikamaru only further realized that this fighter was a definite specialist in long-range fighting, based on how he was using these Blanks. The Third Seat flipped to the right using only his hands, pushing off with his wrist as leverage, and landing in a crouch several yards away.

His shadow soldier for a shikai suddenly appeared behind the enemy, and with a single mental command from Shikamaru, his sword tore through the pale fighter's back.

There was a scream of terror as he considered his fate, before he turned quickly and started dueling with the shadow fighter. Shikamaru's zanpakutou could react as quickly as the shinigami's thoughts, parrying strikes before they even happened. Shikamaru tried planning ahead, working well enough to knock the blade from the Ryodoji's hand.

"It's over for you," Shikamaru warned. **"Bakudo Number Sixty-two: Hyapporankan!" **The shinigami materialized a blue rod of energy before hurling it like a javelin, the rod splitting in mid-air and impaling the Dark One against the wall, blood dripping to the ground.

"It's not over yet," the man warned through gurgling blood, raising a bound hand that could only move around the wrist and instantly calling as many Blanks as he could. The Ryodoji inhaled them and suddenly grew more and more powerful, powerful enough that the rods holding him down were suddenly not enough.

Shikamaru's eyes widened with surprise as they burst, shattering into a million pieces like simple glass. The opponent stood quickly, his sword returning to his hand, and he rushed at Shikamaru with newfound power, power that easily dwarfed his own. "Captain-level? That's impossible!"

The shadowy zanpakutou warrior intercepted the man's attack, the two dueling for supremacy and Shikamaru was not going to let that bastard get the better of him. A cut grazed along his thigh, the same place where the shadow was just struck, and Shikamaru realized that it would not be that easy.

* * *

Naruto sat at the table, wishing that this whole thing could speed up a little bit. He knew what was at stake here, knew now after Ganryu's explanation that all the worlds were in danger. There could only be a short time left, and if they didn't succeed quickly, there would be no World of the Living to save. No Soul Society to save.

Hanabi seemed to not live alone. While her husband had apparently passed away, her children and grandchildren seemed to be here at the time, as well as their husbands and wives. It was easy to tell who were her children among all the visitors, as they seemed to have the Hyuuga bloodline trait, the Byakugan. Naruto did not remember much about it, but he could not forget those pale eyes. Even so, there was something different about them, something that was probably the reason why they could see him in the first place.

One of her granddaughters was very much pregnant, her dark hair and pale eyes a trademark of the Hyuuga clan.

"Well, Konohamaru would never believe me for a minute if he knew you had appeared to us," Hanabi said when the non-Hyuuga had been ushered out of the room. Naruto did not like all the eyes he had trained on him, he felt there was infinitely more pressure on him now. At least three pairs of eyes could see him, apart from Hanabi herself. "He always loved you from the minute he met you, and he was sad to see you go."

Naruto looked downcast for a moment, his brain wracking. An image of a young boy's face, a young boy who dreamed of becoming Hokage, the grandson of the Third. "You and he were married, weren't you?"

Hanabi nodded, not seeming to want to cry about it. She just seemed a little sad. "The love of my life. You know, my sister was always in love with you. She passed away a few years back, but she lived a long and happy life."

Naruto considered the possibilities for a moment. If Hinata had died at an old age, she would probably be in the Rukongai. He wondered if he could find her, at least to see her one last time.

"I... I don't think I ever knew when I was little," he muttered, the impending doom on his mind but unable to get himself to the point. "But... Hanabi, how exactly can you even see me? I never knew that the Byakugan could see spirits, and that seems like something that would have been public knowledge."

"Mom was the first Hyuuga to ever unlock a secondary level to the Byakugan, one that helped our clan gain even further clarity in our vision. We were even able to look past the material world and experience pure spiritual energy, or yin, for ourselves," one of the women behind him began, apparently the daughter of Hinata. "She attributed that feat to you, Uzumaki. It was always one of her favorite stories to tell, about how you inspired her to reach past herself."

Naruto grinned at the situation, looking around. "It's a nice place you've got here, despite all the rubble. Why do you live here in the ruins anyway?"

Hanabi laughed. "Well, I'm a stubborn old bat who doesn't like change. My children, for the most part, do not live here but live in a compound several miles from here. Close enough that they can watch over me, but not so close they are in the village anymore."

"She would get into all kinds of trouble if we didn't," explained the pregnant Hyuuga, and Naruto laughed.

"So how did I die?" He asked that question in the hopes it might lead to the next question, the whole point of this visit.

The woman looked toward him, her face frowning. She shared a look with her children, the eldest of which was a man with a seemingly powerful presence.

"I'll try to give you the short version, maybe it will help you remember the details on your own. I think... I think it was about a year after the Uchiha left the village," she explained, Naruto's memory flashing to the image of a black-haired boy with dark crimson eyes. "The Akatsuki kidnapped you and you were never seen again. A some point a few years later, it was revealed that the Kyuubi had been extracted, and that is how we believe you passed away."

Naruto was fixated on only one detail. The Kyuubi.

"The rest of the villages managed to stop the Akatsuki, but in the process, the damn Kyuubi was taken by the Hidden Cloud Village," the eldest of the three Sarutobi-Hyuuga began, the man with an unmistakable prideful look. It reminded him of Byakuya. "They were unable to actually make a successful Jinchuuriki, but that did not stop them from declaring war on us several years later. Over time, the village was wrecked by more war and more attacks, but Dad managed to steal the urn back."

"The urn?" asked Naruto, the detail not unknown to him.

"The Kohaku no Jouhei," explained Hanabi. "It was how the Cloud managed to seal the biju for so long. We managed to retrieve it, but without the right person, it's useless."

"Oh, come on, Grandma," the pregnant Hyuuga said. "It's not like we have a reason to need a Jinchuuriki anyway. It's fine where it is."

Naruto let them talk after that, only responding to questions or giving answers when they directly involved him. They were having a discussion about the wars that the Hidden Leaf had fought since Naruto's death, some great battles and great figures from history he had not lived long enough to see. He was not even half listening.

He was worried about how to ask the next question. This entire situation was terrible. With Ganryu hiding somewhere nearby, it would only take him seconds to wipe out the family if he did not do what the Ryodoji wanted. He cursed under his breath and turned to them, trying to think of a good way to ask the question.

"So... where is the Kyuubi after all?"

* * *

**It'll be wrapped up next chapter, I do believe. I'm sorry for the lack of Naruto action, but hopefully the other characters were interesting enough!**

**My original chapter that I posted had created a couple of plot holes that I had not realized I was creating, so I edited them back out. Hopefully this version of Chapter 9 makes a bit more intuitive sense and contradicts less facts, and I apologize for all the confusion. **

**Let me know what you think about this chapter in a review! Until next time!**


	10. 10: Reunion

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**.:10:.  
Reunion**_

Naruto was not sure why he was here, why he was allowing himself to be played like a fiddle like this. The Byakugan-wielders all around him were smiling amicably as they walked alongside him, guiding him down underneath the Hokage Monument. They had passed through several booby traps, traps that were not reactivated as they went. Naruto realized that was why Ganryu needed him to come down here first, to get them to turn off the sealing arrays for the traps present.

"You've asked _us_ a lot of questions," said Hanabi. "What happens when you die?"

The blonde shinigami watched the older woman with a sense of dread, seeing her mortality right before his eyes. She was very old, probably close to dying of old age. He frowned at the thought.

"Well, it's complicated," he explained, referring to the set of rules that no human can know of the afterlife until they become a whole waiting for konso or hollow encroachment. "I'm... not at liberty to say."

She nodded. "So there is some structure, I take it? Some kind of rule?"

He nervously bobbed his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, you could say that. You really got to the bottom of that."

She laughed. "Sorry. I've just lived long enough to pick up on things. Can you at least tell me one thing?" Naruto was going to shake his head, but she continued before he could. "Is it nice?"

Images of poverty-stricken districts of Rukongai came to his mind, the crime and even sometimes sickness that comes from them. He was lucky to have come from an inner district, but he had seen the outer districts with his own eyes while on duty many years ago.

The kind expression on her face, the concern she held for what would happen to her. What had happened to Konohamaru. He smiled, realizing that he couldn't tell her the whole truth. "It is nice."

They passed through another underground corridor, a corridor that was decorated with torches covering the walls. It ended at a massive ornate door, and sealing tags were arranged in an interesting combination. Naruto wished he knew something about Sealing Jutsu, but it's not like the information would do him any good right now.

Three of the shinobi approached the door and began dispelling the seals, in a manner that reminded Naruto a certain spiky-haired pervert. It brought a smile to his face.

The door finally opened with one last seal release, and Naruto was beckoned inside of the chamber.

It was a large chamber, surprisingly full of weapons, objects, and other things of great wealth. It was a large vault of a huge number of shinobi artifacts, but the greatest of which was sitting in the center of the room.

The Kohaku no Jouhei, the Sealing Urn. It was a waist-high, yellow vase with the kanji for "Lightning" written on the front in red and a rope tying the lid closed. Inside that urn was the Kyuubi, the monster that had once been inside of him and what was once the political lynchpin of the Hidden Leaf Village. It may have been the only reason why the Leaf had lasted as long as it did, the presence of a jinchuuriki one of the only things preventing war from all fronts.

"There it is," Hanabi said. "We went through a lot to get that back during the last war with the Hidden Cloud Village." The woman walked toward it, putting her hand on the vase. "Even though we couldn't use the biju anymore than the Cloud without an Uzumaki like you, we still couldn't risk it getting into the wrong hands."

Naruto approached the vase himself, the Hyuuga watching him silently, their piercing gazes unnerving him. He felt self-conscious, knowing what he was going to do, but if he didn't do it soon, Ganryu would kill them.

He took a deep breath, and then reached down and grabbed the vase, sprinting toward the door as fast as he could. He could not go fast with the heavy object, the object that he was surprised he could even interact with. He was immaterial, but somehow picking up a material object? The urn's sealing array might have been the culprit, but it still seemed strange that he could interact with the object.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Hanabi called out for him.

Something suddenly struck his back, and he was reminded painfully of a battle long ago, fought at the end of the Chunin Exams. The Gentle Fist taijutsu had collided with his back, sending him sprawling to the ground and the vase rolling across the ground.

Naruto deserved that strike, and he was secretly glad that they had intervened. In some way, he was happy he had been hit, but he did not like the pain.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the man, standing fiercely in front of him with his palms held out, his advanced Byakugan shining with pale white light in the dark corridor. "You think you're going to be able to take that? Are you even Naruto, or some kind of poltergeist?"

The others caught up to them, and Naruto realized that he had to do this now or they would die. He quickly stood up, ignoring the pain in his back, and began chanting. **"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo Number Sixty-one: Rikujokoro!" **The blonde raised a finger and a pale yellow light erupted from his fingertip, immediately surrounding the Hyuuga that had attacked him and binding him in place. Six thin beams of light were extending from his midsection. "I've got to go. Don't worry, you aren't hurt. I've... got to get moving. I'm sorry!" He picked up the Urn and continued running back up to the surface, where he would meet up with Senna and Ganryu and head back to the Valley of Screams.

The shinobi were not about to let that be the end though, shocked at what had transpired and another male, this one looking to be no older than twenty and probably Hanabi's grandson, headed right for him. He was running through hand signs, before finally holding up a tiger seal. **"Fire-Style! Great Fireball Jutsu!"**

The blonde's eyes widened at the sight of the scorching hot flames headed right for him, a sign of the Sarutobi clan being part of his heritage. He dipped into Shunpo, despite the short corridor, and sped to the right, dodging the flames as they collided with the wall only a few steps away from him.

He cursed and tried to remember his way out. But when the Hyuuga boy appeared before him through another passageway, he realized he had been going in circles.

"You're going down!" He flipped through more hand-signs, preparing yet another jutsu and Naruto had no clue what kind this would be. He was still barreling toward him, carrying the vase under one arm and surprised he was even able to do that.

Before the jutsu could finish, the boy suddenly stopped and there was a splatter of blood from his mouth. Naruto's eyes widened as the invisible man made himself known, apparently even invisible from the Byakugan. His sword was sticking from the boy's chest, and Naruto's heart dropped.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked, prepared to use the Kido he had been tempted to use on Ganryu himself. But before he could, the white-haired Ryodoji grinned.

Naruto was suddenly struck with the same white liquid from earlier, the liquid once more spreading to cover his body and eventually his face, suffocating him into unconsciousness. He knew this was some kind of Blank and Kido combination but given the tight quarters, he couldn't block it. The urn dropped once more as Naruto's consciousness fell again.

* * *

Tenten hit the top, bursting over the edge and using Shunpo to head right for the enemies attacking the barrier. She stopped in mid-fall, molding her weapon into a number of falling senbon needles and hitting the enemy in all the right spots, dissipating them into wisps of smoke. There were still countless more, and it was almost impossible to really see where they were or why.

More of her squad and Squad Two shot out at the Blanks, attempting to rush them and fight to distract them from the barrier-building Kido Corps, their robes very ornate but their expressions very worn. The enemy were numerous enough that they were barely making a dent in them, and within moments, the mantis-like creatures were pushing them back toward the edge of the hill.

"Shit, these guys are not going to stop coming!" she muttered, forming a simple katana and leaping at the creatures. She had been in shikai far too long, used far too much reiryoku at the moment. She could barely keep her wits about herself as she attacked yet another Blank relentlessly, tearing it to shreds that seemed as fragile as the wind.

There was another explosion as one of her Squad went down with a suicidal Blank, and she cursed at the implications. Squad Four was heading up steadily, lead by Sakura and they would likely be here shortly. But she still felt like their casualties were only getting in the way and the wounded could die if they weren't careful.

Ikkaku burst from the crowd, his Hozukimaru still in shikai but his entire body was covered with cuts and scrapes, his face bleeding from nearly every pore. Tenten was starting to sport the same look, and she hated the fact that the blood seemed to be getting in the way.

He gunned through several enemies, before finally catching the attention of the real generals of the enemy, the Dark Ones. A large man wearing some kind of cloth over his face, and carrying two large bat-like weapons called tetsubos, headed right for them. Just to prove his strength, the man swung the bat in his right hand, and when it collided with the back of an unsuspecting member of the Stealth Force, the weapon exploded and sent the victim flying and covered in smoke.

Tenten took a deep breath and rushed at him, hoping that she would be strong enough to take him so that no one else would be damaged in the process. She kept Yukai Datsu in katana form, using as much as speed as she had left to outmaneuver him.

"Wow, you're as slow as you are ugly," Tenten taunted, slashing at the man's leg and achieving a satisfying splash of blood. "If you aren't careful, I'll beat you before you can swing those clubs of yours one more time."

"Shut up, damn it!" The man cursed and quickly spun, swinging both of them in her direction. She ducked out of the way, before swinging upward and slashing at the man's left triceps muscle, cutting into the flesh easily. "You think I'll let you beat me, you puny female!"

"Spoken like a true brute!" she said, shifting her sword and taking him by surprise, immediately creating a riot-shield and covering herself from his explosive clubs. He hit against the shield, and even from the ensuing explosion, it was durable enough to withstand both of them. "I'm not a one-trick pony like you!"

The shield melted away into a whip, and she quickly snapped it at him, cutting into his thigh and bringing him to his knee. Another transformation left her with a scythe, and she was about to bring it down on his head when she suddenly buckled over, her sword reverting to release state.

"Not now!" she yelled, her exhaustion catching up to her. The Ryodoji laughed at her plight, raising both clubs and starting a downward swing.

Ikkaku appeared in front of the attacks, jutting his spear-like weapon into the man's exposed gut. The swing stopped mid-air when the shinigami smacked against the wounded triceps muscle with the end of the spear.

Tenten scrambled out of the way, picking up her sword and trying to find a safe place to catch up. Some of her other squad members tried to form a protective line around her, as she watched Ikkaku continue to duel the explosive brute. She felt useless now, no way to actively contribute until she got some strength back. When Sakura appeared with some other medical shinigami, she would feel better about this.

* * *

The pink-haired shinigami raised her needle-like rapier zanpakutou and blocked yet another crossbow bolt, dodging the next, and attempting to pull the last out of her shoulder and diagnose the wound at the same time. The crossbow wielding Ryodoji was using her ability to manipulate the Blanks to her advantage, becoming more powerful and replenishing her ammo using their bodies.

**"Sokatsui!"** She shouted, a cackling blue wave of flame erupting from her palm and striking the woman on her side, just enough to hurt.

"Shit, you stupid girl!" the woman yelled, ten bolts from her weapon heading right for Sakura.

The Squad Four member was starting to remember why Squad Four should not be fighters, her combat skills wearing thinner than she wanted. Squad Four was not one to get active combat training, even with her idea of an Interdimensional Relief Team within the squad slowly starting to pass.

She sped forward, using her Hoho to slip in between crossbow shots, and then slammed a fist into the purple-haired woman's jaw, the bone cracking with a satisfying crunch. But Sakura had done nothing substantial, the moment still filled with tension as she was shot point-blank with a crossbow, the bolt stabbing directly into her stomach.

Sakura dropped to the ground, her wound serious and the blood soaking her kimono. She knew not to pull it out, but she had better things to worry about at the moment. The Ryodoji did not think that was good enough, preparing a crossbow shot to the face.

Something very fast struck the opponent's neck, a beautiful tattoo of a butterfly appearing for a split second before another strike appeared, making the butterfly spread until the enemy was so dead she would never come back, ever.

Sakura had never been more glad to see the image of Captain Soifon, Captain Aizen, Captain Ichimaru, and Captain Tousen before. The appearance of four captains on the battlefield was enough of a morale booster that the other shinigami would be emboldened by the very idea of them appearing.

"Sakura!" a voice shouted, and she looked over to see a petite girl with pale hair and an interesting braid doing down the side of her face.

"Lieutenant Isane!" she said, relieved to see her. With the lieutenant here, she would be just fine.

Sakura let herself numb to the pain of the healing Kido, trying hard not to stress about what was going on. The captains had arrived, and things would surely be looking up now.

* * *

Shikamaru coughed blood, the fighting already taken a lot out of him. He had several wounds and his powers felt drained, his lack of energy very unnerving. Although, it was not that abnormal.

He craned his neck up to see his opponent, who was lying against the cliff wall of the overhang, Shikamaru's katana sticking from the Ryodoji's chest. He cursed at the fact that he had killed the Dark One, but he was more lamenting the fact that he was probably going to die here as well if he did not receive medical attention very soon.

Several of the squads had passed this overhanging already, so the mission would likely be a success. But did he really want it to be a success? Naruto was still likely held captive within the Valley of Screams, if he wasn't dead already. If they used the Kido Cannon, did he really want Naruto to die?

"Well, you got yourself into quite the mess, huh?"

He lazily looked up to see Captain Kyoraku, his captain from Squad Eight. A sigh of relief welled through him, and even that was painful.

"Are you the only one who came?"

Shunsui shook his head. "No, there are several of the captains here to end this before it escalates. I'm going to get you down there for medical attention."

Shikamaru was not going to object, letting his captain carefully pick him up and head down to the ground-level, surprisingly fast for all the craziness going on. It seemed that all of Squad Four was now there, set-up just beyond the area around the Hill, as well as the few members scattered amongst the fighting like Sakura and her team.

The lazy Nara tried to turn off his brain, his worrying about his friends, but with the captains here, Shikamaru was starting to worry even more for Naruto's life. It was sure that the fighting would soon stop and the casualties would cease, but that would allow the Kido Cannon to fire assuming it remained protected. Naruto was one of his best friends, and he knew it was childish, but he was more concerned for him or any of his other friends than he was for anyone surrounding him on the other hospital gurneys.

* * *

Captain Hitsugaya raced up the staircase with Shunpo, gliding through the Blanks and the shinigami trading blows. He managed to arrive on top, immediately realizing that there were several people fighting on the top already. Captains even, throwing their spiritual pressure around as a threat and taking some of them out without even touching their swords. He only noticed three Ryodoji, but no matter how strong they managed to get, that would not be enough against this many Captain-class fighters.

Ikkaku, from Squad Eleven, had recently given the reins of his fight with the Ryodoji with explosive clubs called Tetsubos to Captain Ichimaru, who managed to end the fight without even needed to extend more than a hand for his sword. His Third Seat Temari was watching from the sidelines, wishing she could help him.

A man that used spinning projectile blades, blades he could make hover in the air and clone them from Blanks, was attacking Captain Aizen and trying to eliminate him with spinning volleys of his blades, but it would not be enough. Aizen was too swift on the battlefield, using Kido to deflect and destroy the blades before they even came close, until he finally ran his zanpakutou through the man with haste.

"Hmm. That could have been a little cleaner."

Samui from Squad Nine was fighting an opponent that looked to be carrying two rocket packs and sending missiles attached to cords at her, and then using the Blanks to continually restock every time he needed it. The Ryodoji was dodging Samui's Lightning-Type zanpakutou Inabikari, every spark of electricity not enough to do him in. She looked weak, tired from the fighting and wounded from several strikes across the last couple of hours.

Toshiro realized he should help her, so he rushed it, quickly drawing his zanpakutou. **"Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru!" **It transformed into a nodachi with a gold lotus-like guard, a green ribbon wrapped totally around his hand, and a small chain with a crescent moon-shaped pendant on the end.

He swung the sword quickly, the Chinese dragon made of ice rolling out at a ferocious speed, surprising the Ryodoji who had to dodge quickly, while still getting his rocket-cords iced over.

Toshiro angrily flashed in, spinning to dodge the counter-strike and slashed, cutting into the right shoulder of the enemy. The enemy screamed and nearly grabbed him, but another lightning strike hit his rocket cords, shocking him enough that he could not get away from the icy shinigami. The area around the blade froze, continued to freeze until his entire torso was covered with ice, eventually his entire body.

The last of the Ryodoji was vanquished, and Samui gave a nod to Toshiro, thanking him for the help. The captains and their subordinates watched in surprise as the Blanks suddenly dissipated completely, without warning, like someone had teleported them away all at once.

"Is it over?" asked Toshiro, curious.

Captain Soifon shook her head, joining the other captains watching the end of the battle. "No, it is not over until the threat with the Valley of Screams has been dealt with."

When Hitsugaya realized what they all meant by that, he frowned. "Are you still going to risk Naruto's life in all this? Why don't we send someone in right now, while we have time, and end this?"

"It is an impossibility," Captain Aizen said reluctantly. "I'm afraid that we cannot defy the orders of Central 46."

Toshiro grimaced, knowing all too well about Central 46's orders. He still remembered the time when he had been ordered to fight to the death for Hyourinmaru.

_Naruto... you're on your own._

* * *

The blonde's eyes opened, only to find Ganryu and Senna standing before the Urn. The shinigami's arms and legs were bound with the same liquid, and he tried to struggle but it was not going to work.

"Ah, I see that you are awake," explained the white-haired man. "Thank you for being a part of our plan, but you are still needed once more. _Then_ you can die."

"Why did you hurt the survivors? Why did you kill one of them? I don't understand, I was doing what I was told, what you wanted me to do! None of them had to die!"

Ganryu smiled. "I'm afraid they did, Uzumaki. Or at least,_ he_ did. I left the others alive, I promise. He was in the way of us succeeding for our plan."

"He couldn't have possibly been in the way!" Naruto exclained. "He was just a kid! Byakugan or no, he wasn't a threat! None of them were!" The blonde Uzumaki was angry, angry beyond belief.

Senna, who had been quiet until then, turned to him with the greatest puppy-dog eyes. "Oh, don't be mad at anyone, Naruto! We used you to succeed, and thanks to you, we got what we wanted! Thank you so much!"

"You got the Kyuubi," Naruto said, looking at the yellow urn in the center of a wide, spiral array of Kido runes and kanji. Blanks were surrounding them, watching from no particular formation. "Why in the world do you even need it though?"

"Ah, that is the best part," Ganryu explained, walking forward and pulling something from his bag. It was Naruto's zanpakutou, and the man unsheathed the short sword. He walked forward, touching the blade to Naruto's cheek but not cutting into him. Naruto tried to pull away from it but the Dark One made sure to keep it trained on him. "You're about to watch and find out! We don't want the worlds to end anymore than you do. We want to rule over them all as gods and take revenge against the Soul Society!"

"And somehow, the Kyuubi will help you do that?" asked Naruto. "Last I checked, the fox isn't exactly the most helpful guy in the world. This plan of yours is insane!"

Ganryu nicked him, cutting a long gash across his cheek with his own blade, collecting the blood on the tip. The crimson color was a stark contrast to the steely white, and Naruto could not have been more pissed as he winced in pain.

"Senna, we're ready."

The woman walked slowly into the center of the circle of seals and complex symbols, right in front of the Sealing Urn. She touched her palms to either side of it, but did not open the lid. Ganryu stepped to the center of a blank circle, held Naruto's zanpakutou horizontally, and watched the blood droplet land in the center of the circle.

Instantly, the entire array of symbols began to glow bright orange, shocking Naruto.

"All it needed was the spiritual blood of a former jinchuuriki," explained Ganryu, as the symbols continued to change, spreading and crawling up the side of the vase. As soon as it reached the lid, Senna lifted it and then stuck her hand inside the black-red liquid.

She screamed suddenly as the liquid form of energy inside the Sealing Urn began to crawl up her arm, joining into her skin like a tattoo and spreading up her arm, beneath her white kimono. The black red liquid began to glow the same orange color as the symbols, showing that the liquid started to pool around her stomach, twisting and churning into a familiar seal that was very similar to the seal used on him when he was alive. It was slightly different as well, however, and as Senna continued to scream, it continued to solidify into that spot until the Kyuubi was completely bound to her.

When it finally stopped glowing, Naruto gasped, not having noticed. The Blanks were now colored dark crimson and black, looking more feral and animalistic and seemingly even more powerful. They even had a black seal of their own, identical to the one on Senna's body, and Naruto could only reel in shock. Even the ground started to rumble with power, everything about the Valley of Screams was growing stronger.

Senna, as the Shinenju, must have been connected to the Blanks. Since the Blanks constituted the dimension, the dimension was stronger too. Naruto could only imagine what that kind of power could do to the Kyuubi, who was now connected to an entire plane of existence through Senna, his jinchuuriki.

"Damn it," the boy cursed, and Ganryu only smiled, knowing his plan was complete.

But when some other form of energy began to appear in the horizon, high above the clouds, Naruto's eyes widened with shock. An orange sparking wave of energy, cackling with yellow power almost like a flame, was headed toward them, growing significantly more powerful as it headed near them. Naruto could not believe what he was seeing: the shinigami had fired the Kido Cannon, not knowing if he were alive or dead. He knew in a few moments that he would be, and it would have been at the Thirteen Court Guard Squads' hands. He didn't know how he felt about that, but he supposed it wouldn't matter soon.

Ganryu grinned, his expression twisted at the very possibility of what that light could mean. "Senna, take care of that. Show them our fearsome power!"

She raised her arms and there was a stunning roar from the very ground beneath him, the sound of the Kyuubi reverberating throughout the dimension. Instantly, blue and red and black orbs began gathering, flowing from every particle all around them. Every rock, every boulder, every particle of air... It was escalating rapidly, growing larger and larger and full of more potent energy. The Blanks were creating large spheres of the energy, all of it coalescing into a giant black sphere so thick and dense that it didn't seem possible that Senna was controlling it. Naruto could not even feel his own body, his own pulse, in its very presence.

During this show, he could not help but notice that his bindings were getting looser, but he was far too busy watching the spectacle before him to act on it. The giant black orb of energy suddenly shot high into the sky, colliding with the energy from the Kido Cannon's blast.

The explosion was unreal, shaking the very foundation of everything he could see for miles. The stale air was hot, impossibly hot, as the flash of light threatened to vaporize the very air around them. The sound was deafening, a blast of thunder more powerful than anything he had ever heard before. An entire cliff was destroyed, some of the veined rock around them breaking up from the sheer shockwave. It was only after the fact of the matter that he realized that Senna had put up an energy barrier around them to protect them from the pure force of such an earth-shattering explosion.

Naruto was more shocked than anything, when the explosion had finally calmed. But when he realized that his hands were now even more loose, he only had one option.

* * *

"It's impossible," the captain of Squad Twelve began, looking through all the data. "Totally impossible. The Valley of Screams has not been destroyed, and the pure, potent energy flowing off of the dimension is causing this to speed up. They appear to have reflected the Kido Cannon blast, defending an entire dimension!"

Kurotsuchi was outraged, but more than that, he was intrigued. The energy signature was completely foreign to him, never seeing anything like it. At this magnitude, it did not seem possible that any form of this type of energy could exist, and it definitely could not have come from the Valley of Screams.

He needed to know what this was. His scientific curiosity had been piqued, and he needed to know now.

"Do not stop examining this situation!" he exclaimed. "Send word to the others, to everyone, now. The Valley of Screams has deflected the explosion. We have less than twenty minutes to end this before it gets out of hand."

He was curious. Very curious.

* * *

Naruto suddenly used Shunpo, grabbing his sword from Ganryu's hands and immediately spinning in the air and slicing toward the scarred man's neck. Ganryu threw up an arm and hit the back of Naruto's wrist, deflecting the blade.

Naruto jumped backwards several feet, feeling good to have his zanpakutou by his side again. Kusaritane seemed more worried than elated, but he didn't know why. She usually did not get this worked up in the middle of a fight.

"Senna, could you destroy him for me? Surely you could do so in an instant, with all the power of this plane at your fingertips!"

The girl did not look ready to attack him, not at all. She made no move to do so, but her personality seemed to be gone completely. The only thing left was the Kyuubi, as though all the memories that had once been her very existence were gone.

"Interesting," Ganryu began. "It seems that I'll have to fight you myself, since the rest of my clan has likely been exterminated by the enemy already." He gestured to the sky, referring to the Kido Cannon blast. "Oh well, the diversion seemed to be a success."

Naruto frowned, immediately rushing at him again with his fastest speed, clashing with the Ryodoji's sword and locking into place. "This isn't a game! This is the fate of all worlds you're playing with, Ganryu! Including this one!"

They clashed once more, sparks flying as they continued to try to take advantage of one another's weaknesses. Ganryu was not the most accomplished swordsman, but Naruto was still finding himself overwhelmed at times by the ancient Ryodoji's abilities, boosted by the Blanks around him.

They crossed blades once more, the two in a battle for dominance. "Now that I have the Kyuubi strengthening the Valley of Screams, my power will be absolute! If this world continues to expand and the worlds collide, the Kyuubi will ensure that the Valley of Screams will regenerate and be the only dimension left!"

They pushed off of one another, and Naruto rushed in again, slashing toward the man's midsection. Ganryu parried the strike and twisted into a counterstrike, which Naruto had to duck down to evade. As he did, the white-haired Ryodoji kneed Naruto in the face, the force of it throwing the shinigami backwards and breaking his nose.

"Shit," he muttered, shouting due to the pain and wishing he knew enough healing Kido to staunch the flow of blood, dripping down his face and into his lips. The taste of iron was his last sensation before he shouted, **"Take root and sprout, Kusaritane!"**

Instantly, his shikai was activated and Naruto wasted no time, launching the chained dagger in the direction of Ganryu. The Ryodoji flashed out of sight, running along the dagger's chain right at Naruto. The blonde pulled back on his arm in reflex, the dagger changing direction and clipping the enemy's shoulder, making it spurt blood.

Naruto recalled the chain at just the right time, swinging an arm diagonally and blocking the counter attack with the end of his attached dagger. He then kicked outward, a flash of memory of a similar move from his past life coming to mind. The kick impacted the man's chest, sending him flying back much farther than he had anticipated.

Ganryu rolled his eyes as he stood up, brushing the blood off his lips. He quickly rushed forward, his reiatsu solidifying in a green aura around his body for a moment, before slashing at Naruto's belly.

The shinigami jumped backwards, catching the edge of the blade cutting through his shihakushou and into the muscle underneath. It was enough that it hurt to move his upper body with every movement, and he cursed at letting himself get hit like that.

He raised a hand. **"Shakkaho!" **The red bolt of fiery energy was narrowly dodged, exploding against the ground several yards away. Ganryu pounced toward him, and Naruto suddenly found himself using the arm bracer to block every strike he could.

"It's going to take more than a low-level Kido to bring me down, you insolent fool!"

Another flurry of strikes and Naruto suddenly had an idea. He extended the chain with a thought, guiding it around the body while the Dark One was so close, and then tightened the slack suddenly, only managing to catch the free arm not holding a blade. The dagger spun through the air, quickly continuing to spin until an orange aura surrounded it like a spinning dart of energy. It angled down so that it was pointed at the back of the man's neck.

**"Rasentane!"**

The orange energy explosion was great enough that Naruto could feel the burst of heat at such a close proximity, but when the seedling-shaped column of hot air dissipated, the enemy was standing there, black and crimson Blanks falling to the ground.

"Shit, how did I miss that?" Naruto asked as Ganryu's Blank armor continued to fall off, having taken the brunt of the attack. The chain fell to the ground as the white-haired man managed to slip out, and Naruto quickly retracted it.

"That was clever, but I'm far more clever than you realize!" shouted the Ryodoji, blasting forward in his direction, his sword poised to strike once more. Naruto felt more spiritual energy signatures approaching from behind, but without warning, Naruto leaped into the air and dodged the strike from the two feral Blanks, the Ryodoji jumping after him.

Naruto held up his free left arm and began to spin it around in circles. **"Tenran!"** A blast of spiraling air hit the Dark One, but it did nothing. The man simply cut right through the wind, instantly cutting into Naruto's undefended side and then slamming him down with a hammer kick.

The blonde collided with the ground loudly, angrily, bruising every one of his ribs upon impact. He forced himself to stand, blood dripping into his mouth from his nose, blood oozing down his abdomen from the cut on his torso. He had to keep fighting, this was not over until it was over.

He jumped up and quickly began to spin the chain around himself, orange light on the dagger spinning rapidly as well. He quickly recalled the correct chant and smiled. **"Rasenkaikon!"**

The dagger suddenly struck downward, spiraling and creating the image of an orange energy tentacle heading for the most powerful source of spirit energy nearby. It was fast enough that when it hit Ganryu in the shoulder, it took him almost completely by surprise. The orange energy nearly cut right through him, but when Ganryu realized it enough to recover, he quickly pulled himself backwards and the chain instead struck the ground, energy spreading from the impact sight and then exploding upward, a leaf made of orange energy appearing for an instant.

"Not bad," Ganryu muttered, before suddenly raising a hand and gathering several Kyuubi-fied Blanks into his body, his spiritual aura increasing exponentially. Naruto realized that this was a very, very bad thing, the extra power more than enough to overwhelm him in seconds if he weren't careful. "But not good enough!"

Naruto ran to the right, away from Ganryu as best as he could and heading back toward Senna's general direction. He was not sure why he was heading toward the newly-minted jinchuuriki, but if Ganryu was getting stronger due to the Blanks, then he should cut off the source of the Blanks.

He did not go right for the seemingly emotionless girl, who did not react at all to their fight, only watching. He was hoping to throw Ganryu off somehow and then go for her, ending her quickly while his attention was drawn elsewhere.

A now boosted Dark One rushed toward him, his aura solidifying and seemingly staying with him permanently. The sword headed right for him, but Naruto shook his head, shouting, **"Rasentane!"**

The spinning chained dagger collided with the enemy, exploding with orange light and sending him flying backwards, immediately crashing to the ground far away from him.

Naruto realized it was his chance and immediately flash-stepped forward, only taking one super-speedy step before arriving in front of her. He immediately slammed the bladed dagger deep into her stomach, and she did not even protest. Senna whimpered lightly, still impaled on his blade, and a single drop of blood from Naruto's nose hit the letters of the Kido ritual seal.

Naruto tried to pull the dagger out of her and let her fall gently to the ground, but the thing was stuck. He realized why very quickly when he saw the black and red liquid crawling up his arm, eventually touching skin and immediately burning with pain.

He dropped to his knees as the Kyuubi integrated into his body, joining with him once more in a much unwanted reunion. He had had some of his memories back for all of a few hours and he already knew he didn't want to deal with the fox. But here he was, the fox becoming part of him again.

It swirled onto his stomach, and he heard Ganryu scream obscenities and rush at him. Naruto, empowered by the Kyuubi for the slightest instant, immediately exploded with rage and strength and speed, leaping toward the white-haired enemy and slashing into the man's abdomen with his outstretched dagger.

Naruto fell to his knees a second later, his body overwhelmed with what was happening, with the idea of the Kyuubi back inside his body. He turned slightly, only to see that Ganryu was now almost completely bifurcated, his body limp and lying in the circle of the seal he had probably worked so hard to find. Senna was next to it, her own body lying emotionless at the base of the Sealing Urn. He had barely understood what happened, and it was over.

**Long time, no see, kit.**

He was too exhausted to answer him, his body too wracked with pain to stay conscious.

* * *

_Naruto looked at the deep forest clearing with no end in sight, so wooded that he could only see blends and splotches of green and brown color, like an old oil landscape painting. _

_A tall, regal woman with dark red hair, bright blue eyes, and a white kimono that seemed to extend into the base of the ground like a root, as if she were a plant, appeared before him, shining with slight orange light. The kanji for Uzumaki were written on her robe in orange and black lines, and the only other splotches of color were on her sleeves and on the end of the kimono._

_"My son," the woman began, surprising even Naruto. "Our son, I should say." The woman opened her right hand and revealed something that he had never managed to see before. A tiny statue of a toad, unmoving but still very powerful imagery. _

_"Wait, why did you say 'son'?"_

_"Because, Naruto, your father and I became the essence of your zanpakutou upon your death," she explained. "My chakra was sealed alongside the Kyuubi, woven into the seal so that I may one day help you control its power. Minato did the same, etching the last of his chakra in his dying breath to be sure that you would be able to receive his guidance someday."_

_Naruto sat there, trying to think about what that all meant. He had to wipe away a tear from his face just thinking about it, thinking that his mother and father, in their own way, had been within him all this time. _

_"This is no time for tears, Naruto."_

_"Is the battle not over yet? Did Ganryu survive?"_

_She shook her head, her red hair glinting in the light of the clearing, sunlight drifting through the leaves of the canopy. "No, Naruto. The current fight is over, but as you know, there will be more to come in the future." She glanced up at the sky. "Naruto, the Kyuubi was not meant to come back to you, especially not in this way. What do you know about chakra and its composition?"_

_He curiously tried to think of what he knew or remembered. "Well, chakra was made of two parts. Yin, a spiritual part, and yang, a physical part."_

_"During the fight against the Kyuubi all those years ago, the night we sealed him within you, Minato sealed away the yin chakra of the Kyuubi using the Reaper Death Seal. He then sealed the yang chakra within you, a purely physical form of the Kyuubi."_

_Naruto thought for a moment. "So the Kyuubi that joined back with me is the yang form of him then, right?"_

_She nodded. "Yes. Do you see how this might be bad for you?"_

_"If I'm not made of physical matter, then does this mean that the yang chakra is bad for me?"_

_"Essentially, the yang chakra could have long-term effects, even if you never used it, because it is sealed within you. I can't imagine what kind of havoc it could wreak on your soul."_

_Naruto looked around his inner world, watching the trees for a moment before turning back to her, the woman he knew to be his mother and his zanpakutou spirit. _

_"I guess it's impossible to remove without killing me, isn't it? Even if I'm already dead."_

_"This is not exactly an exact science," explained Kusaritane. "I do not believe anything has happened in such a way before now. But it seems, by all accounts, that if we were to try to extract it, it could be too dangerous."_

_He frowned, considering his options before he realized that he didn't exactly have any. "So where is he anyway? I kind of figured that he would be here, in my inner world, kind of like last time."_

_**"You rang? So nice to see you again, Kushina. I might be less sarcastic towards you if you had actually tried to use me in your lifetime. At least kit here tried."**_

_Naruto turned around suddenly, seeing the one great eye amongst the leaves. If he looked closer, it looked like he was being held down by large, thick roots of ancient trees, each of his tails held by a different one and his head bound angrily and surrounded by leaves and branches. _

_"Nice to you again too, Kurama," Kusaritane answered back, as equally sarcastic as Kurama had been. _

_"Wait, your name is Kurama? And your name was Kushina?"_

_"My name is Kusaritane in this form," she explained. _

_**"Oh, come on! I know you're like a composite of Minato and Kushina, but you're like 99% Kushina. About the only thing you have of Minato in appearance are his eyes. And I guess the kimono looks like that dreaded Hokage cloak, the bastard."**_

_The red-headed zanpakutou did not seem amused. "The point of me calling you here, Naruto, is to introduce myself to you, now that you have started to regain your memories. And I wanted to warn you that if you go down the path of using the Kyuubi, it could be life-threateningly dangerous for you."_

_**"Yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. I haven't been this cooped up since Ole' Hashi fought me with the entire Forest of Death. I'm sure you'll be fine, kit."**_

_Naruto was utterly confused, but one thing did seem clear. "You seem different, Kyuubi. Less angry. What's the deal?"_

_**"Eh, **_**you**_** spend a long time stuck in a vase and see if you don't come back a changed man."**_

_"Uh.. no thanks."_

_**"At the moment, I'm angry, but not furious. I would be furious if you were as emotionless as that girl was. But I'm just angry with you."**_

* * *

Naruto awoke gently and immediately moved his rib in the wrong possible way, getting a searing jolt of pain that made him infinitely aware of the fact that he was sitting in a hospital gurney, deep within the barracks of Squad Four.

"Sorry, that was me," said a voice, looking over to see a pink-haired shinigami holding her hands over his chest, imbuing healing Kido to his bruised ribs. "At least you're awake. How do you feel?"

His head immediately began to hurt as he realized again that Sakura had been someone from his past, as had Shikamaru, Temari, and Tenten. Even Samui seemed oddly familiar, but he... the Chunin Exams, maybe?

"Not good," he muttered, tempted to move his arms to test how bad his head felt but not wanting to risk it if his arms were fractured/broken/cut/etc. "Did... did it all end well?"

Sakura shook her head. "The Valley of Screams started to recede, we presume, the moment you killed the Shinenju."

"Her name was Senna," he muttered, feeling terrible for what had happened.

"Oh. Okay, Senna. Anyway, on our side, a lot of people were lost at the battle and a lot of others were wounded. It was not a good day for us, that's for sure." She did something with her Kido that immediately made one of his ribs pop back into place with the worst grinding pain you can imagine. "Over the past five days, the Valley of Screams is now all but nonexistent."

"Five days? Have I been out that long?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I'm afraid so. Everyone has been worried sick about you, but not for a lot of the time. Most of the time, they've spent a few nights here themselves trying to get better on their own. The battle was very rough, but it turned around when the captains arrived."

Naruto looked at her face, her green eyes and pink hair, and the resemblance was too odd not to say something. It was almost positively her.

"So, Sakura, I have an interesting story to tell, but I think it will have to wait. Is Momo hurt?"

Sakura shook her head, grinning at his question. "No. She and the rest of Squad Five were on messenger duty. She's been sitting outside waiting for you to get up on every off hour she can manage. Let me go get her, and you guys can talk for a few minutes. I'll be back in five, because I have to finish resetting you ribs."

The moment Sakura left the room, Momo rushed into the room and immediately held onto him for dear life, no matter how much it hurt him. "Oh, I was so worried about you, Naruto! How are you feeling?"

"Well, honestly, I was a bit better before you hugged me," he said, laughing.

She blushed. "Sorry about that. I didn't think, I've just been worried sick. How do you really feel?"

"I feel fine, for the most part," he explained.

"Well good, because you have to tell me what happened! No one will explain anything to me."

Naruto nodded. "I will, I promise, but it will have to be in front of everyone. At the captains' and lieutenants' meeting about my report. I don't want to explain it all twice, but I'll give you the little details after that."

"Wait? Lieutenant? You're going to take the position?!"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I think it's what Kaien would want anyway, for someone to fill his shoes."

He didn't want to tell her the real reason, but maybe he would one day.

* * *

Naruto had to admit, the badge did feel nice around his left arm. He was standing behind his captain, listening to the proceedings. They were discussing several other items of topic concerning the battle and the clean up and the medical side to it, but when it finally became his turn to talk, he nodded and stepped forward, turning to face the head captain in as formal a way as he could.

He detailed the kidnapping and the moment he woke up, but did not mention the fact that he had heard of an informant. He did not want to tip the person off, in the rare instant the Ganryu's informant was in the room. It was the reason why he didn't want to tell Momo about why he wanted the lieutenant's position; he could really do some investigative work here.

"What was really strange was when Senna touched my face, she somehow unlocked memories of my past life. I remember the person that I was, or at least parts of it. I know where I lived, the job I had, some of the people I knew. In fact, some of the people I know found their way here, to the Soul Society, in my graduating class of the Academy."

"Fascinating," Captain Kurotsuchi said, more to himself than anyone else.

The others seemed less shocked about the news than he had expected, but he continued the story. He explained they had taken him to what were called the "Elemental Nations," a chain of islands pretty far from Japan and nearly out of the Soul Societies direct jurisdiction. They seemed really surprised to hear that that was where he had lived, and that he had met people that he knew back then.

He explained that Ganryu had wanted the Kyuubi, a powerful biju that were used as political tools and weapons of mass destruction back in his day. He detailed the way that he had helped Ganryu get the Sealing Urn, the death of the boy from the survivors, and the fact that he was captured again and brought back to the Valley of Screams.

"Ah, the shinobi," Kenpachi said. "They're practically extinct now, but I hear from the history books they were great fighters."

He went on to detail the ritual they used to turn Senna into a jinchuuriki, which in turn affected the dimension in such a way that the entire dimension became a container for the Kyuubi. He had to detail the nature of the Kyuubi and the way that he and Ganryu had fought. He had to explain that he had killed Senna the moment he could.

**You're not going to tell them about me, are ya?**

Naruto didn't tell them about Kurama binding to him, and instead explained that the Kyuubi had died with Senna but could resurrect over time. He was not sure why he was lying about it, but he did not feel good about explaining that to them. It seemed like it was inherently his business, and while he figured that it would eventually bite him in the ass, he decided against telling anyone about it.

"And that's pretty much it," Naruto explained. "I woke up in the hospital a few days ago, if that counts toward the end of the story." Hinamori gave him a smile from her position in the line.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Uzumaki," the Head Captain said in his deep voice. "Does anyone have any other business?"

"Actually, I have one more thing," Naruto said, inciting a look from several people, including Toshiro. "I... I was wondering why you chose to use the Kido Cannon while I was still in the dimension."

No one knew how to answer that question immediately, but it was a surprise to him when Captain Ukitake cleared his throat. "Not one of us wanted to harm you intentionally, Uzumaki. This was the order of Central 46, and at the time, it was the best option for us to destroy the dimension before it became a huge problem."

Naruto nodded, knowing that was probably the case but he could not help but feel bitter about it. "Okay. That is all."

The meeting was adjourned, and Naruto left when it was time. He had a date with a certain fellow Lieutenant, and he did not want to be late. Anything to make him feel better at the moment, and he could not think of anything better than spending the afternoon and evening with Momo Hinamori.

* * *

_**This is the last chapter before the timeline of the start of Bleach. I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know what you think in a review!**_

_**The next chapter will likely not come out for a while, as I will be very busy the next couple of weeks. But as soon as I get the chance, I will update! Until next time!**_


	11. 11: Passive Action

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**.:11:.  
Passive Action**_

The atmosphere of the small restaurant was warm and cozy, the perfect feeling for the night's events. It was an up-and-coming joint in district five of West Rukongai, somewhat high-class but still quaint. The blonde lieutenant was trying not to feel nervous, knowing that the special date was important for both of them.

He smiled at the lieutenant across from him, her face petite and grinning back at him. "How's the food?"

"It's amazing," Momo replied, taking another bite of her salad for good measure. Her miso soup was almost completely gone, and he took that as a good sign. "How have we not come here before now?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, it was a suggestion from a friend. He thought it would be a romantic idea for our anniversary." He silently hoped that she would not press the issue.

No such luck. "Which friend? Shikamaru? Sentaro?"

"It was actually Captain Aizen," he blurted out, hoping that she would not make a huge deal out of it. Naruto was not sure that he liked the guy, but it was a cordial suggestion. This place was definitely something that Momo would appreciate; she liked small, intimate settings. But Uzumaki did not like it simply because he did not want to think that Aizen was butting in.

"Really? I'll have to thank him for the idea," she said amiably, and Naruto relaxed instantly. "He has good tastes, Naruto. You shouldn't get so worked up over him."

"Yeah, I know. But he's important to you, and sometimes I feel like that's all you talk about," he said without thinking. They had argued about this before, and he immediately regretted bringing it up again in that context. "I'm sorr-"

"No, it's okay. I'm not angry with you, I just don't see why you think you have to compete at all." She gripped his hand across the table tighter. "You're important to me, Naruto. The most important man in my life, bar none. Sosu- no, Captain Aizen, is a good friend, but he's my superior first, friend second."

Naruto nodded, but he still couldn't wipe the feeling from his mind. He did not like the first-name basis at all. The fox chimed in, but Naruto didn't give the Kyuubi the time of day. "I know, Momo. But when he suggested this place at the meeting the other day, it was too good of an idea to pass up. I had a couple of other places in mind, but I feel like he was the one who influenced me to pick this, and I don't like it. I don't want him to feel like this stamp over our business."

The restaurant suddenly became quiet, Momo's statement stopped the moment that they noticed. Naruto turned around toward the door and nearly rolled his eyes as the bespectacled captain of Squad Five strolled in like he owned the place. His presence was enough that even the other customers from Rukongai knew of his exploits and that he was a very respected shinigami.

Naruto put on a good face, knowing that this could not have just been a coincidence but not wanting to show any resentment. Captain Aizen was a kind man, not ever giving Naruto a reason to mistrust him, but the respect that Momo had for him sometimes bordered on a crush or even love. Naruto did not like it one bit.

_Perhaps you are simply being insecure,_ his zanpakutou suggested in the back of his mind. _He's such a nice man, a good friend to you and to her. Someone you can trust, and that's all it should be. He's not malicious._

**You're right to dislike him. He's way too goody-goody. There's reason to believe he may love Momo himself, even if he's old as dirt.**

_Don't listen to him, Naruto, _Kusaritane supplied. _He is her superior, a co-worker. You should trust Momo on this._

Naruto frowned inwardly and told them both to be quiet.

"Captain Aizen!" Hinamori said, getting up to greet him with a bow. "Is there squad business to take care of?" Naruto begrudgingly stood and bowed as well, not wanting to show the man disrespect.

"Not tonight, Momo, I promise." The captain kindly bowed back to her and stood over their table. "How are you two doing this evening?"

"Good," Naruto said. "The food here is excellent. Thank you for telling me about it."

"Anytime, Lieutenant Uzumaki," he said with a friendly half-smile. "I've got to go and pick up my order."

The man walked off to the counter, and Naruto looked at her. "Why would he do that? I swear, he's just trying to mess with my head. He's politely screwing with me."

She laughed. "You're being paranoid. He probably just wanted to see how we were doing, and he ordered some food while he was at it. It's not that big of a deal. Can we talk about something else now?"

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, sorry. What did you think about Abarai from Squad Eleven becoming a lieutenant for Squad Six?"

Momo was happy for the change of topic, Naruto could tell. "I think it would be a good fit for him. Tenten speaks highly of him, and Yachiru keeps saying that he's become very good under Madarame's wing."

Naruto remembered the redhead from his very first zanjutsu lesson, and that had been so long ago. He was likely to have become leaps and bounds stronger since then, just like Naruto himself had, although with a different focus of battle skills.

"I'm sure Squad Eleven wouldn't miss the muscle," Naruto said with a chuckle. "They have quite a bit to spare." Immediately, his mind flashed to something that seemed off-putting to him during the meeting, and he had to bring it up. "Momo, something that Lieutenant Kurotsuchi said seemed a little suspicious today. She acted lik-"

"Are you really going on about this again, Naruto?" she asked, cutting him off. "The spy who told the Dark Ones about our movements is going to be more alert than that. And Nemu is creepy, but I can't see it being her."

He took a deep breath, sighing. "We can't take any chances, Momo. It could be anyone."

"Which is all the more reason why you should tell someone. Tell Lieutenant Sasakibe or even Head-Captain Yamamoto himself." She brought that option up a lot, but Naruto continued to shoot it down. "C'mon, you don't really think it could be either of them, do you?"

"No, but I can't risk tipping the real informant off. If there's anything my past-life taught me, it's that this had to be pulled off by someone high-profile, and getting a private audience with the Head Captain without letting anyone else know is difficult."

She nodded, knowing that was probably true. "Why not try again? It was a fluke that last time that made you too afraid to try. Maybe it's time?"

Naruto remembered the time she was discussing, and the moment that he had tried to request an audience, Captain Kurotsuchi had appeared inside the room and Naruto had had to make up an excuse. The Head Captain had not been the wiser, but it was still difficult to risk the information spreading around to the wrong person.

"I just have to be careful. It's too high-risk. I have always been too direct, too overconfident, too forward. With something like this, it's best to sit back and wait for a slip-up."

She frowned, crossing her arms. "But you're not waiting for a slip-up. We practically have this conversation after every meeting. You're looking to find something every time you speak with someone, and it's not healthy. Maybe it's time to put away the corkboard and actually wait to find something. Let it come to you."

She had a point, to a certain extent. It nearly obsessed his every thought, and he knew it was not a way to live. He nodded to pacify her, but his thoughts were still troubled. He just wasn't sure of anyone around him, too afraid to tell anyone but her. Even Toshiro did not know.

"Back to Renji, Naruto. Do you think it's a good idea to promote him though? The position has been open for a while, after a little bit of shifting around among the squads years back," wondered Momo. "Renji's a good friend of mine, but back when we were in the same squad, I'm not sure if he had a great work ethic back then. Maybe that's changed though."

Naruto wondered, letting his mind drift back to the present. "Yeah, I don't see why it would be a _bad_ idea. I don't know of anyone else who would be a good candidate. Rukia's the only person who comes to mind, but I don't think her brother would want that at all, power level or no. He won't even let her become an officer in Squad Thirteen."

"Yeah, Rukia is an interesting case."

"Rukia? The Kuchiki girl?" asked a voice, Aizen appearing over the blonde's shoulder holding a box of carryout. He had a genuinely interested look on his face. "Sorry for the eavesdropping, but I could not help but overhear."

"It's fine," Momo said first before Naruto could say something derogatory. "We were talking about the potential candidates for Squad Six's open position. At the lieutenants' meeting today, we discussed it and are probably going to submit our votes for Renji Abarai. Ultimately, it's up to Captain Kuchiki himself who he wants to work with, but we thought it would be a good idea to revie-"

Aizen nodded. "I see. Renji, huh? I think he would make an interesting candidate. We probably should fill that gap soon. Someone needs to even out Captain Kuchiki." They laughed.

"The other name that kept coming up was his sister Rukia," explained Naruto. "She's easily lieutenant-level, works hard, and has a relationship to Byakuya so she could possibly work with him."

"But then again, we don't think _he_ could work with _her_ very well," added Hinamori. "He's not exactly been keen on her participating in any potentially dangerous situations. She could handle the paperwork side, but what if a crisis occurred and she was needed on the battlefield?"

The captain looked toward the window thoughtfully. "You bring up interesting points. I wonder as well if she could work with her brother. There's also the pressure from the Kuchiki nobles surrounding her. Hmmm. I think I'll talk to Byakuya myself and see what I can do on that front. I believe he would want her to represent the Kuchiki clan as a high-ranking officer, but I do not know what would be the best option here truthfully." He paused, looking down. "I had better leave you two alone, I'm probably overstaying my welcome if I was ever welcome at all. I wish both of you a happy anniversary."

"Thank you, Sosuke," Momo said, grinning and bringing a slight frown to Naruto's features. He really did not like Momo using his first name.

"Thank you, sir. Have a good night yourself."

The captain left the restaurant soon after that, leaving the two of them a little too silent.

"Do you remember our first date?" asked Momo, a smile stretching across her face as she remembered it herself, the expression reaching her eyes and twinkling in the lamplight.

Naruto thought back to it. "Yeah. Of course I do. You were so beautiful, and I was so nervous and awkward. I had never done anything like it before, and I did not know what to expect really. We had been friends for so long that it eventually went away though and I was able to have a good time."

She nodded. "Yeah, I remember you did seem really nervous. I was too, just so you know, but I think you might have been a bit more than I was. You ended up spilling your soup all over your front and then laughing hysterically."

They jovially laughed again, remembering the merriment. "I remember saying something like, 'I used to eat fourteen bowls of ramen back in the World of the Living and never have an incident. But as soon as a pretty girl is involved, my whole brain melts.'"

They talked, laughed, and genuinely enjoyed each other's company for several more minutes before Naruto finally realized it was time to leave. He was going to take her on a special route through the Rukongai, back through his original home district Hokutan. He had already spent a lot of time decorating the cabin just for the occasion, and he knew she would absolutely love it. It was better than the barracks for the moment, and they would have time alone.

* * *

Later that night, he stood up from the bed, careful not to wake the woman sleeping beside him. He walked out of the small hut, watching the moonlit sky from the top of the small mountain, Hokutan stretched before him, twinkling lightly but nearly devoid of any signs of life at this hour.

The breeze was cold, but he had something that he had to do. He walked around the back of the hut, ensuring that no one was watching, and quietly dispelled the barrier kido that he had set up to hide the secondary building he had erected, an even smaller shed with only one room.

Kido runes sealed the entire shed from any form of notice. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside, performing another quick incantation to reseal it. He only had a few minutes in case she woke up in the night, noticing his absence. She knew about the shed and the necessary spells to get inside, but he didn't want to worry her. Not on this night.

The tiny shed was barely larger than a closet, but nearly every inch of it was covered with potential leads and information that could have been related to the Valley of Screams. Past people involved, any information about what a Shinenju even is, recordings of suspicious conversations he had had. It was all tied together in strange ways, but he could not find the link that lead to whom it could be.

He did not have enough intel to eliminate anyone from the list, anyone who was an officer at the time. Only he, Momo, and Toshiro were unrelated to the incident and any other captain or lieutenant was suspect. The potential for a Third Seat to be involved was slim to none. He wanted to figure this out, wanted to learn who it was and bring them to justice. Too many lives were lost that day, and without an inside man, Ganryu would not have known about the Kido Cannon and staged an attack on the Seireitei fast enough.

He ignited a small Shakkaho, barely the size of a candlewick, and immediately started to gather any paper and burn it all up. He was doing it impulsively, he knew. But after so many years without any potential movement, he wanted to get it out of his mind and focus on his job and his beautiful girlfriend.

Ashes fell to the ground, charred remains of missions reports he had saved, copies of financial documents. All of it falling to the ground, burnt up and removed from the world. The tiny flame on the end of his finger did not waver, continually burning through slips of paper and scrolls that once contained data he thought important.

The actual corkboard that he started with several years ago was the only thing left, and he smiled before setting ablaze as well.

He touched the wall of the shed, watching it begin to catch on fire and slowly spread. He undid the seal, stepping away and controlling the oncoming blaze with another kido, concealing it so that no one would be alarmed by the heat and the smoke and the bright light on the mountaintop.

He watched the space where it once stood, creating another barrier around it just in case. He wasn't giving up on finding the informant, but he was starting over with a new, less active and more passive frame of mind. Perhaps new evidence would come his way with that new method of thinking.

Something caught his eye as he turned away, and Naruto frowned. A group of small boulders sat as a testament for Senna, and Naruto instantly filled with regret. He had created that grave marker for her, to honor her even if she was not actually buried there, and it saddened him immensely. She had not meant him harm, but had been influenced and molded by Ganryu and the other Dark Ones for her nefarious purposes.

She had loved him, or at least the memory of what he once was, and it made him feel more and more guilty to even consider what had happened. What he had done to her for the greater good.

_It's all right, Naruto._ _You did what you had to do._ Kusaritane said inside his mind, but he was not sure that was the case at all. Could he have saved her in the end, or was that truly the only option?

* * *

Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork.

It never seemed to cease, but he could not help it. Konso reports, mission briefings, documents about equipment shipments, damage reports, Hollow descriptions for the Great Spiritual Library, official updates from each of the stationed shinigami... et cetera. Naruto had been handling the slack from the captain today, as he was not feeling very well.

He stamped his seal of approval before turning over a mission assignment, reading the name on the top and squinting at it. "Rukia Kuchiki?" he whispered aloud, thinking that this was far, far too coincidental. It was among the World of the Living stack, which surprised him more than anything.

He opened the file quickly, the requested assignment for Karakura Town. A large city like that with an abnormally high density of spiritual activity... was that really a suitable situation for Rukia's first solo mission in years, if not longer? She was to stay for a specific amount of time, a relatively short-term assignment compared to other cities of similar sizes across Japan. Did she have enough experience to handle that on her own, strength or not?

Naruto thought back to the other night, his mind focusing in on Aizen. The captain must have talked with her brother and convinced the noble that Rukia was prepared for a mission like this. The lieutenant had never thought that the captain of Squad Six would agree so quickly, but maybe times were changing in their relationship? Maybe Rukia had shown Kuchiki something; she and Naruto did not talk very often on a personal level, so maybe there was something in her life he had missed. Either way, Captain Aizen seemed to have worked his magic and Rukia was to leave that afternoon for one of her first solo missions ever.

**That was a little too easy for him to do, don't you think?**

_"Nah, Aizen's a charming guy, as much as it pains me to admit that sometimes,"_ the blonde answered back within his mind, the Kyuubi stirring at the notion.

**Yeah, yeah, but Byakuya's a stubborn prick. I don't think even **_**Aizen**_** is that good.**

Naruto pushed the bickering to the back of his mind, realizing that it was probably a good idea to tell Rukia of the assignment. He would find Ukitake later to follow-up, after the lieutenants' meeting to welcome Abarai of Squad Six.

He spotted Kiyone and Sentaro, both the Third Seats working feverishly at their desks across from one another, where they could see each other constantly and know the competition. Naruto thought it was a little bit ridiculous that they were so dead-set on conquering each other in something as simple as deskwork, but as long as they continued to handle a load of the paperwork, he was not going judge.

"Hey, you two, have you seen Kuchiki?"

Sentaro poked his head up from the file he was analyzing, shooting a quick darting glance at Kiyone on the other side of the room. "I think she was in the garden earlier, but she may have left by now. It's been a couple of hours since I last saw her."

He looked toward the blonde girl across from him, but she shrugged like she didn't know, and Naruto could have sworn that Sentaro looked so proud just for knowing something she didn't.

"I swear, one of these days, you two need to figure out a way to work out the tension between you," he said suggestively, walking out of the office before he could hear them argue anymore.

The garden was a very large courtyard adorned with a traditional style. Koi fish swam around in circles in the pond, with lily pads and small trees twisted in a very decorative way. The women, or whomever designed the squad's barracks long ago did a great job giving it a nice, peaceful feel. He enjoyed the feeling of nature, and it reminded him of his inner world.

The lieutenant noticed the petite black-haired shinigami sitting calmly under at the base of a tree, a thoughtful expression stretching across her face. He wondered what she was thinking about.

"Um, Kuchiki," he started, clearing his throat as he approached. He held out the slip of paper, surprising her a bit. "An assignment for you."

She read over it, her eyes widening in shock. "A month? In Karakura Town? By myself?"

He nodded. "Yes. You're supposed to leave this afternoon. Do whatever you need to prepare for it and make sure you let Kiyone know before you leave." He turned away, knowing that she did not exactly appreciate his presence, especially out of the blue interrupting her free time.

"Wait!" she called out, standing and brushing the dust off of her shihakusho frantically. "Are you sure I'm ready? I mean, does my brother know?"

Naruto wondered how he should respond. Should he explain that this mission was given the go ahead by Byakuya, or let her believe that she was going at it by herself? It might be a pride thing to her.

"No, he does not, but the mission should not be something that you can't handle. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

Her face brightened at his statement, but she seemed unsure of him. He let her be after an awkward moment of silence, deciding that she would know soon enough whether she was ready.

He returned to the office to get ready for the lieutenant's meeting to appoint Renji Abarai to Squad Six. He wondered if Aizen had convinced Byakuya to accept Renji as well.

* * *

With the formal meeting among the captains and lieutenants out of the way, the lieutenants stayed behind for their own meeting inside the Squad One barracks. Naruto always felt a little bit apprehensive in the chamber, especially with the captains around. He felt that way even more so without them around because he was the sole representative of an entire squad. He did not want to look his worst.

His eyes drifted around the room, watching as the others talked amongst those next to them. Most of the attention in the room was on Renji, nearly the entire point of the meeting was devoted to him in the first place. The tattooed redhead was nervous, his fingers fidgeting slightly as Kira, Momo, and Hisagi tried to catch him up to speed.

"How are you feeling about all of this?" Naruto asked as he walked over, thankful that he had a few minutes before he had to return to his position in line. He slipped his arm around Momo's waist, smiling.

Renji smiled uneasily. "Well... I'm fine, I guess. Seems a bit strange after all this time to be wearing a badge around my arm."

"Oh, you shouldn't worry so much," Izuru said with a grin, running a hand through his blonde hair absently. "It's not such a hard job when you really think about it and break it down."

"Just be glad that your captain is a workaholic," suggested Nanao, heading over to congratulate him. "I'm basically handling both the Captain and the Third Seat's work load."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, Shikamaru is a problem. Captain Kuchiki takes pride in his work, and as long as you do as well, I'm sure you'll be fine." He leaned over the redhead's ear. "Just don't let that pride go to your head like he did."

Renji chuckled, grateful for all the reassuring words. "Thank you very much, you guys. I'm sure I'll get used to it."

Sasakibe cleared his throat loudly at the head of the U-shaped line of thirteen lieutenants, and everyone quickly returned to their positions. Renji was visibly nervous, but after a moment seemed to calm down a bit more.

"Let's call this meeting to order." They went over several normal orders of business, and Naruto could not have been more bored. Meetings like this were all talk and no real action. Action in the sense that usually nothing major was discussed; it was all just thirteen people catching up on the day-to-day squad business. Very rarely does a position change, and it becomes very tedious and boring without those events to talk about.

One thing that came up consistently was Central 46, the central governing body of all of the Seireitei. The nobles supposedly had a direct link to the Soul King, but Naruto knew that was bogus. It was all political semantics to maintain their hold over the Soul Society, and through the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, they had a military arm to enact their will.

Normally, that would not be difficult to deal with. The problem was that Central 46 usually meddled in situations that should not have even needed their ruling. They cluttered up the system instead of organizing it, and Naruto wondered what it would take to try to change that system.

He did not dare speak out though. Too much would be at stake if he put himself on the line for that. Central 46 was a body that did not mind eliminating those who challenged the status quo, even if by mistake. He remembered Toshiro's friend Sojiro Kusaka, who had manifested the same zanpakutou as the silver-haired captain-to-be. It made him angry just thinking about it.

The new lieutenant of Squad Six was welcomed formally with open arms, and the thirteen of them celebrated with a toast of sake and a small cake, and then adjourned. Naruto and Momo had to drag Matsumoto away from the bottle, while Omaeda plowed into the leftovers of the cake as gracefully as the nobility could.

* * *

The blonde touched down on the ground, having air-ran across the bay to another sliver of the mainland. He was sweating, the sun having beaten down on him for almost an hour without many clouds to block the light, and the air was incredibly humid.

He finally landed, looking at the vast expanse of wooded forests and a large mountain literally dotted with waterfalls, trees that were larger than normal, and a mist that covered the area and nearly obscured it from sight.

He had been here many times over the past several years, but he still managed to enjoy the natural beauty of the place each time he found it. He wandered down the path, heading toward the main area at the base of the mountain.

It did not take long for Naruto to realize he was being followed, and opening his senses did not reveal the culprit. That must mean that whatever was following him was alive, so he did not even register it as a threat.

He turned just in time, side-stepping out of the way of a ten-foot-tall orange and blue creature trying to stomp on him.

**"Hey! It's Naruto!" **the huge toad said, smiling as Naruto looked up at the large toad.

"Gamakichi! What's happening?"

"Nothing much, I promise," the toad began. "What brings you here to the mountain? More training?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, not quite." He raised up his shirt and channeled his energy, the ink-black seal appearing on his skin. The seal had been ebbing recently, a cyclical decline that happened every few years. Much faster than if he were alive. "I was hoping you guys could tighten this for me."

Gamakichi nodded, his eyes focused on Naruto even though the toad could not see him directly. The toads had explained it once that they were so attuned with natural energy that they could see on the spiritual plane to a certain degree. "Yeah, follow me back to the Chief."

Naruto did as Gamakichi wished, enjoying the sights as he did. He wished that he could stay for a bit and try to train, but he only had so much time available to do what he needed, without the Soul Society finding out all the details.

When he entered the large chamber filled with strange drawings and symbols and odd devices that made no sense no matter who long he looked at them, he found the giant toad Gamabunta, as young as ever, watching him with great interest from a large chair that did not even look like it was made for a toad. "Uzumaki."

Naruto bowed to him. "Chief Toad, it's nice to see you again. I was hoping that you could help me with the seal."

**Damn it, kit, why don't you just let me be? **The Kyuubi roared within his mind, and Naruto tried to ignore it.

The toad nodded, sure that they could handle it all right. **"Yes, I suppose so. It's the least I could do after that hollow attack the last time you were here."**

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, wishing that that incident had never happened. "Yeah, sorry about that. The mist only protects you from spiritual radar so well, huh?"

The toad nodded. **"We're not worried about it. As long as your visits here are rare and short, we don't mind you coming. Some of the younger toads really enjoy your company, strangely enough."**

The mist around the island was one of the reasons why they were able to stay hidden from spiritual detection, one of the reasons why the Soul Society did not have a strong foothold in this corner of the area. It was strongest at Mount Myoboku and other spiritual locations, permeating throughout the Elemental Nations and obscuring them from view on the grand scale. It was actually unsettling to think about... What happens to most of the souls there?

Was that the reason why he did not know of many more people from his era in the Soul Society? People like Kakashi and Jiraiya and Sasuke... What made Naruto and his friends different? Why did Sakura and Shikamaru and all the rest manage to get to the Soul Society, while all the rest did not? Were they in the Soul Society, hidden in the Rukongai? Or did they all become hollows?

He tried not to think about that anymore, pushing those thoughts from his mind. Dwelling on all of that would only lead to confusion.

He enjoyed spending time with the toads though, in the sparse moments that he could. They were a link to his past, somehow having managed to continue to live so long after Naruto's era ended. Some of the other shinobi villages were still around, but they were not thriving as they used to. It saddened Naruto to think that they were a dying breed, and not many of them ever left the Elemental Nations in the first place.

The entire mountain was a strange place, and he remembered travelling there with Jiraiya not too long before his death. He did not know all of the details, but most of the landscape was much the same. The sacred place was apparently long-lasting, helping the toads and other related wildlife to thrive. It made him happy to think about, to think that some part of his former life was still around. Or at least, there was some part of his former life still around that did not hate his guts like the Hyuuga-Sarutobi. It saddened him to think of what happened so many years ago.

Gamakichi lead him through another room, revealing the quarters of the Great Toad Sage, a withering toad with brown skin that was somehow still alive after all this time. It was huge, but not as large as Gamabunta in the other room. The sage toad was wearing a necklace charm with the word for 'oil' in kanji.

Naruto quickly greeted the toad, before explaining that the seal needed to be tightened.

**"I see,"** the sage said, weighing the information. **"Have you been using it?"**

Naruto nodded. "Yes, but only for training. I've never used it on an enemy or a hollow since the first time that I had it fifteen years ago."

**"Has it become difficult? Painful?"**

The shinigami considered the question, remembering the slightly burning feeling coming from the seal after the last training session where he had tried to control the physical chakra sealed within him. It was very hard to use, and he only dared to do so sparingly. The duty to the squad was more important than learning to control Kurama, so he did not get a lot of time trying to subdue the fox's abilities.

The Kyuubi scoffed.** Yeah, yeah, like you'd ever have a chance**.

The toad turned to him and pulled something from the pouch on his stomach. A giant brush and an inkwell. He sat the inkwell on the ground, the thing easily up to Naruto's chest in height, and then dipped the brush into the ink.

The creature made a handsign, channeling energy from around him into the inkwell, and the toad oil inside the well began to become tainted with black. The brush absorbed the liquid instantly, before the sage raised the brush.

Naruto quickly pulled his shihakusho down until the obi was holding up the bottom half, his scarred torso bare for everyone to see. The seal appeared on his abdomen, and the moment that the toad touched the seal with the brush, the Kyuubi screamed obscenities.

The black ink seemed to swirl into the seal, strengthening it while the pain was incredible. Naruto dropped to his knees, his body not used to the stress despite having done this before. He muffled his scream, clawing at the fabric of his uniform while the Kyuubi roared within his mind.

It cursed him, shouted in pain, expressed its desires to bifurcate him and then devour both pieces. He whimpered when the feeling did not cease, the toad oil and natural energy mixture enough to even effect his spiritual body.

After ten minutes of torture, he collapsed and heaved, the toad sage pulling the brush away and putting it back within the pouch at his sides. Gamakichi approached and placed a large webbed hand on his back gingerly.

"I forgot how much that hurt," he muttered under his breath, clearing his throat and trying to stand. He eventually found himself upright, looking at the old toad before him with reverence. "Thank you very much."

He inspected the seal, seeing that the strange markings were gone and that the tattoo looked relatively normal again, despite the subject matter. It faded away from sight as he readjusted his uniform.

"I'd be more careful about using that power of yours," explained the orange and blue toad standing next to him. "You never know when it will have to be fixed if you use it all the time."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I know. I don't use the chakra that often, and when I do, it's only for a few minutes at the most. The seal just does not seem to be very good or last a very long time."

The Great Toad Sage gestured for the two of them to leave, and Naruto returned to the large chamber where Gamabunta was waiting. "Thank you so much, you guys."

"No problem, Uzumaki. Visit more often, although on better circumstances. You're still trying to maste-"

"Yeah, I am. It's going relatively well, actually. I just do not really know if it will work in theory yet, but if I can figure it out, I'll let you know. I'll probably need your help if I ever manage to learn the process and make it work for me."

Gamakichi shrugged. "If anyone can figure out how to use that technique as a shinigami, it's Jiraiya's student."

Naruto wished them well before leaving, aiming for the Japanese mainland. He noticed someone's presence following him, but he did not think too much of it. It was likely just Gamakichi or one of the other toads, so he kept pushing forward. After a moment, the signal disappeared and he let it go.

* * *

Sentaro stared at the date on the calendar, something clicking in his mind. He ran through current mission assignments, realizing that something was amiss. "That's weird. Rukia Kuchiki should have come back from the World of the Living yesterday."

Kiyone, having heard his suggestion, frantically flipped through several papers and realized that he was right. "She's exceeded the time limit of her assignment!"

Sentaro did not really know what to think, but surely it was fine. He tried to the find the record of her last update, but that was over a week ago with the defeat of a hollow named Shrieker and the Konso of a soul named Yuichi Shibata. "She has not reported in for a week."

"It probably doesn't mean anything," Kiyone tried, but Sentaro shook his head.

"It might not, but we cannot take any chances."

"What do we do?" the girl asked, looking at him gravely. Overstaying in the World of the Living was against the rules, but more importantly, it was dangerous. What if something bad had happened to her?

"Standard procedure," Sentaro began, frowning at the notion of what that meant. "We'll call in the Stealth Force to investigate her activity."

Kiyone paled at that, but another glance down at the paper work revealed something else that might be useful. "Lieutenant Uzumaki is in the World of the Living though. Maybe we could send him to look?"

The other co-Third Seat considered the option, wondering if it might be better than getting someone from the Stealth Force involved.

* * *

Naruto finally stopped in the skies above Japan, wondering what he should do now. He most likely needed to go directly back to the Soul Society, but his mind drifted to those of the squad currently stationed in Japan, Karakura Town in particular. Rukia Kuchiki was assigned there, and he almost wanted to check on her.

But deciding that it was better to leave it alone, he drew his blade to activate the Senkaimon. But before anything could happen, his Soul Phone started to ring. An update on a hollow nearby?

No, that usually did not happen unless you were on an assignment and they sent you an update. This was different, and it unnerved him.

A message appeared on the screen. _"Lieutenant, we may have a problem. Rukia Kuchiki's assignment ended yesterday, but she has not reported to the barracks, nor has she updated her assignment since last week. We decided to explain it to you, knowing that you were already in the World of the Living, so that you could investigate the situation. Kiyone and I wanted to avoid using the Stealth Force just in case."_

The blonde looked up from the message, wondering what that could actually mean. The date was right, it was the 17th of June and she should have returned. Had something happened to her?

He sprang into action, flash-stepping through the air as quickly as possible, in case something was amiss. He routinely sent out his spiritual "sonar", trying to find any inclination of where Rukia could be near the city of Karakura Town as he hastened toward it. He knew it was dangerous to do that, most likely a beacon for any hollow within ten kilometers of his location.

The city was a bustle of activity, but it was lacking in spiritual pressure aside from a wandering ghost or two. Knowing that the situation might be dire, he decided to ignore the pluses for now, speeding toward the heart of the city and landing atop a roof that looked to be a hospital.

He tried once more to sense for the familiar reiatsu of Rukia, and after a short moment, he found it on the edge of his radar. But there was something else amiss about the area, two strong pressures nearby nearly overwhelming hers in pure intensity. If he could analyze either source, he would likely find that they were strong in pressure but not necessarily in size. Surely nothing around here could be nearing the size of a high-seated officer other than himself, and he was only at one-fifth the power at the moment.

He sped toward the area, keeping his own reiatsu down as he headed to a small wooded area on the edge of town, a small graveyard atop a hill. Running in the rain was not fun at all, but he tried to ignore the water streaming down and soaking his uniform.

Something changed, a flash of bright blue and white light on the horizon almost like cackling lightning. He sped up in desperation, hoping to find the source and hopefully help Rukia in whatever was attacking her.

"Coward!" a voice shouted into the sky, and a dark shape seemed to disappear into the clouds and through a Garganta.

Naruto emerged from the clearing, watching an orange-haired shinigami bleeding from his shoulder, holding his sword, his blood mixing with water on the ground. "Ichigo, it's over!" The familiar face of Rukia, seemingly wearing modern clothing, approached the figure, holding onto both shoulders. "You did it! You stopped him! Put down your sword and rest! This battle is over!"

The other shinigami looked up suddenly, watching the rainclouds in the sky. "No, it isn't! It won't be over until I've killed him! I have to! I will avenge my mother!"

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried out, and Naruto could not be more confused by the situation. Who was this person and why did he look like Kaien?

* * *

Naruto paced back and forth, flipping the top of his Soul Phone open and closed again and again. He half expected to be contacted at any moment by the Captain or by Sentaro and Kiyone, but he did not know what to say or what to do.

Eventually, he noticed the figure of the woman coming down the hill, her garb still that of a modern sundress with a hat fixed on her back. She approached him cautiously, not sure what to think about the situation. Naruto did not know either.

"Um, sorry that I couldn't speak more about this earlier, Lieutenant. I had too much to take care of with Ichigo's family, I had to sneak away to meet you after they went to bed."

He shrugged. "It's fine. So what's the deal? Why haven't you reported back in? Who is this kid? What did Grand Fisher want with him?"

She looked like she was going to choose her words carefully, as though she had been expecting this visit or a visit from someone all along.

"Grand Fisher apparently killed his mother a few years back, and when Ichigo realized it, he had to fight to avenge her."

After a couple of moments where it seemed she was finished, he gave her an expectant look. "And? Who is he in the first place?"

"I need an extension to my assignment," explained Rukia, almost unintelligibly blurting it out. "There's too much going on here for me to leave now."

"I'll see what I can do, if you'll tell me what's going on in the first place." He was not about to let her get away with not explaining the details.

She sighed. "The night of my arrival here, I immediately was alerted to a large reiatsu signature. That signature was Ichigo Kurosaki."

"A shinigami from another division that was stationed here?" asked Naruto, thinking that to be odd. Usually they don't double-up on assignments, and Karakura has always been part of the Thirteenth Division's jurisdiction.

She shook her head gently, a carefully practiced motion like she was stepping on a minefield. "No. He was a human with a high amount of reiryoku."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Was? What is he now?"

"He was able to see me that night, even touch me, and when a hollow was attracted to him and threatened to attack his family, he broke through a Kido I placed on him and ran out to try to help me protect his sisters. I protected him from a fatal attack, and in order to protect all of us, I... I tried to give him part of my powers so he could save both of us."

The tension in the air was palpable, and Naruto gulped at the implications of that serious crime. "A human with shinigami powers? Like Kugo Ginjo?"

She nodded slowly. "Except it did not happen temporarily. He somehow took too much of it, almost all of it, and this entire month, I've been helping him protect Karakura Town in the meantime while my powers return. Except they haven't been returning, I can barely cast low-level Kido."

Naruto strummed his fingers on his hip, trying to process this. Giving powers to a human was a very serious offense, very serious. The Thirteen Court Guard Squads and Central 46 would not take that well at all.

"Rukia, that's grounds for an execution."

She sat down on the bench, hugging her arms around her knees. She looked scared. Alone. Terrified of what could come. Naruto did not really know what to make of this news.

They were both quiet for what seemed like a long time before Naruto finally asked, "Is it because he looks like Kaien?"

Her eyes bugged out, and she looked at him straight in the eye, shocked. "What? I don't know what you mean."

Naruto sat next to her, giving her a playful look. "Oh, come on. He's practically the spitting image of our old Lieutenant, and you know it. What's the story there?"

"I don't know. I've just... never noticed it before."

The way she said it made Naruto think she was lying, but he didn't press the issue. She seemed a little uncomfortable with that information.

"What do you mean though? Even if he does look like Kaien, what are you asking me?"

"I'm asking why you want to stay so badly," explained Naruto. "I'm asking why you didn't try to come back to the Soul Society, or at least explain the situation for some leniency. If you were to ask me, it seemed like that was the only thing you could do at the time. But the guys in charge are not so reasonable." He remembered the Kido Cannon incident, and his whole body shuddered at the memory.

"I have to stay," explained Rukia. "I have to stay and help him some more. I can't go back and face them all, knowing what I did."

The way she said it was not a beg for help. It was not a beg for understanding, or for him to support her. It was simply her pride as a shinigami, as a member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and as a former student of Kaien Shiba. Naruto knew then what he was going to do.

"I'll talk with Ukitake and see if he'll get you an extension," explained Naruto after a long moment of thought. "I can't make any guarantees though, and if that doesn't change, I don't know what more I can do."

The blonde was not really sure what she wanted to do with her extra time, but maybe if she were to gain her powers back during that time interval, then she could return to the Soul Society and not get into any trouble at all, as long as no one ever knew about Ichigo afterward.

Naruto took a deep breath, realizing that he had to get back very soon. "I've got to get going, and I'll request your extension. You send a request as well and try to act like nothing has changed. If I can send you a message, I'll let you know by noon."

She nodded, suddenly grateful but apparently dubious. "Why are you helping me of all people anyway?"

He smiled. "Eh, you're the one who's held a grudge after all this time, not me." She just laughed.

* * *

_**How's that? I apologize for the lack of true action in the chapter. I wrote another scene where Naruto interacts with Ichigo before the fight even starts, and then helps him defeat Grand Fisher, but I realized that I did not really want to do that because of how interpersonal that fight is with Ichigo and even Rukia herself. I figured that having Naruto interrupt such an important event would be cramping on Ichigo's characterization, so I decided against it. Sorry if that's not what you were expecting, but there's plenty more in store later on, as well as twists to the details. I just did not want to twist this particular detail, if you know what I mean.**_

_**Let me know what you think in a review! **_


	12. 12: Burning Petals

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties. **_

* * *

_**.:12:.  
Burning Petals**_

The site of the grand complex was interesting, full of Japanese influence like the rest of the Soul Society and the Seireitei. The land of the dead seemed to mimic the land of the living, but the traditional setting of feudal Japan was favored more than the modern feel.

Naruto had only visited the Kido Corps a few times, but each time was an experience. Of the three arms of the Seireitei military, the Kido Corps was perhaps the most secretive because it was not as directly associated with the maintenance of the World of the Living. The Stealth Force, the other arm of the military, highly influenced Squad Two, almost to the point where they were nearly the same entity. But the Kido Corps were less linked to his dealings, and it always felt like a foreign visit.

Each of the members was dressed like an ancient monk, covered in black and white robes and carrying interesting staffs that Naruto suspected were zanpakutou, but he could not be sure. The only bit of skin he could see were the eyes.

Naruto knew several people who excelled with Kido, Momo being the one who stood out the most to him. He smiled in her direction and snuck a squeeze to her hand, before righting himself and returning to proper protocol.

He was a bit of a dabbler himself, one of his most used traits when direct combat was not ideal. He liked to study the spells long before he started to regain his memory all those years ago, and it made him wonder. Did he have a talent for Kido because he was once a shinobi, and the techniques were similar but different? He had not had many ninjutsu in his repertoire when he was alive, but had it still influenced him enough that his afterlife was affected by it?

Either way, Naruto, Momo, and Kira were there to ask someone from the Kido Corps about the validity of a certain spell that Momo was working on.

"You sure this'll work?" asked Izuru, running his hand through his hair but carefully avoiding his gelled bangs. "We're not likely to get access to the high-classed officers on this at all."

"Well, in theory, I think it would work, but we have to be sure the elements are right," explained Momo. "Captain Aizen is one of the most skilled Kido practitioners in the entire Seireitei, and if the bits and pieces that could make up the spell came from him, then there's a good chance it could work."

Neither of the two blonde lieutenants could be sure of that, but Izuru was probably more confident than Naruto was when it came to Aizen. Naruto did not doubt his skills, but the captain left a bad taste in his mouth.

The particulars of creating a Kido spell, especially a Kido spell of this type, were very complicated and had to be precisely right so that the right effect happened with the right intensity. Naruto had never created a Kido before, but he had used Kido in combination before, and the parameters were not that different in principle.

"Could we not have asked for help from the SRDI?" asked Izuru again, stopping just out of earshot from the sentry at the opening to the main building of the complex.

"And let Kurotsuchi in on our idea?" asked Naruto, the guy nearly as bad as Aizen in his mind. "The guy's smart but he was part of that whole movement to kill me back when the Blanks attacked, remember?" Naruto was not exactly fond of the Captain of Squad Twelve after that, nor should he be. "I'm not gonna trust the creepy guy anyway." It reminded him of a certain snake-like man, and it was not a pleasant memory.

Kira and Hinamori did not argue, but instead moved toward the door. The sentry posted outside escorted them inside after they stated their business and showed their lieutenant sashes, and the three lieutenants then headed inside.

The inside of the circular room was filled with scrolls in every sense of the word, covering the thick shelves lining the walls. It was like a very large, in-depth library filled with prominent writings that formed the basis of Kido, its spells, and abilities. The theory was a very dynamic one, as it seemed to change every few centuries with one particularly intelligent shinigami devising a new way to look at it.

He spotted a scroll from Kisuke Urahara and smirked; of course the caned bastard had something written here.

A robed member walked forward, the three-pronged circular insignia of the Kido Corps on her chest. She bowed lightly to them, and they in turn. "Lieutenant Kira, Lieutenant Hinamori, and Lieutenant Uzumaki. What business do you have with us?"

Momo stepped to the forefront. "Well, we were actually hoping to speak with the Captain or the Lieutenant, if that is possible."

"Our idea is a little confidential, ma'am," Naruto offered, a little unsure of what to think and how the Corps would react.

The robed woman eyed them a little suspiciously. They were very secretive with their dealings, only sharing what was necessary. Ideas like this, however, were so dynamic that only those devising it needed to do beforehand.

"I apologize, but our officers are currently busy," the woman decided. "If you wish to speak about your business, I will accept your message and pass it on to those that need to hear it."

The three of them looked at each other for a moment before turning back to the woman. Momo spoke up first. "We have an idea for a Kido that I found specs for from Captain Aize-"

Immediately, her eyes paled. "I'm afraid that you will have to handle that on your own."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Wait, why? You don't even know what it's for yet!"

"You'll have to excuse me, I have some very important business to take care of. See yourselves out, but do not touch anything." And with that, the robed woman walked out of the room, despite Naruto's loud complaints that brought far too much attention to them.

"Damn it," the Squad Thirteen Lieutenant muttered. "Now what?"

"I guess we'll have to try to arrange the spell on our own," Momo explained.

Izuru looked at both of them expectantly. "The SRDI is still an option. With something like this, the moment we figure it out, we'll have to share it with them and they'll have to test it, format it to fit their needs."

Naruto shook his head. "Not a chance."

* * *

The pink-haired shinigami touched down on the ground, thankful to be able to stretch her legs in the World of the Living without the interference of other squad members. She was a little surprised that Unohana had been so willing to let her travel to the other side by herself for a routine medical operation; most operations from the Interdimensional Relief Team she had created herself were done in small groups after a battle. This was just her.

"Hmm, maybe the Captain trusts me more than I thought."

Sakura was looking at this trip as more of a resting trip. More often than not, she would probably have a few hours where she didn't have to worry about anything before heading back.

The modern world was so very different from the kind of world that Naruto had described, and she wondered what the far-off islands looked like now, and why it was isolated from the Seireitei's usual business, aside from the occasional wandering soul.

She didn't remember any of the Elemental Islands herself, but she wished that she did. She wished she could understand the life she had lead before, and what had caused it to be cut short. Admittedly, she had lived to be a couple of years older than Naruto had, but she wanted to know what she had been like. What she had accomplished, if anything. Had her life had meaning?

She passed by a clothing shop and wondered if she should get into a gigai and take some human clothes. There was a cute pink sundress that she thought would look interesting on her, but in the end, she decided it was best not to bother. She wouldn't be here long enough to need to hide herself, and Karakura Town was relatively quiet enough that she could relax for a bit and escape matters of life and death.

She enjoyed watching people, admiring their little busy lives, unaware of the other dimensions spinning around them. Most found some sense of purpose, an ideal to strive to be. Some found it in fiction, others found it in religion. It was interesting to see that most people had an inherent goodness in them, even if that was only in fleeting moments.

Sakura wondered what it would be like to have a long-term assignment like Rukia Kuchiki, where she would truly be able to assimilate into the world and watch it unfold around her. Her efforts to get Squad Four more involved with the World of the Living had met with some success; the Relief Team was able to traverse the boundary between the shinigami world and the human world only in times of stress. These occasions like Sakura's visit were not often.

The pink-haired woman passed through another busy street, not bothering to look where she was going. She was passing through pedestrians as she walked across the street, not able to touch them as if she were only an invisible mirage.

She stepped onto the opposing sidewalk and pondered the road rules that the humans seemed to abide by. It made sense that they would need rules to control the vehicles they drove, but it was difficult to relate them to the Soul Society.

The healers of Squad Four had traditionally been required to stay in the afterlife, for the reason that it was too dangerous for them. But as Sakura saw an ambulance roll through an intersection, sirens blaring as it sped dangerously down the road, she wondered why human emergency personnel were able to be active, and yet the Interdimensional Relief Team was still met with such high disregard by the nobles. Sakura was essentially a laughingstock at parties for even having the idea, and her entire team was barely active at all.

Should they not be able to head to the World of the Living and see if their medical skills can save lives? Theoretically, they could ensure a human's survival from the spiritual plane, but would that upset the balance of transmigration? Why was there such a backlash about the very idea?

_The damned nobles are probably just worried that too many of us will die facing hollows, and we won't be able to save their sorry asses if they ever breached the walls, _Sakura thought.

The idea of breaching the walls of Seireitei was never publicly discussed, but privately, it was a huge topic of conversation. Ever since the Blanks were able to amass such a large force strong enough to burst through the sekkisekki barrier, the shinigami had been considering ways to strengthen the walls and the city inside. Captain Komamura had been championing the idea of building turrets made of sekkisekki inside the city, with smaller, individualized Kido cannons, but it had never gotten past the idea stage. The nobles did not want the Seireitei to begin looking like a military compound, and Central 46 was pressured enough not to even consider the idea.

Sakura sighed at the implication and rushed off toward the ambulance, hoping to be there in the case that someone passed away. She opened her spiritual senses, not sensing anything out of the ordinary in the direction of the incident, whatever that incident was. A Soul Phone might have been helpful, but since this was not a long-term assignment, she had to deal without it.

She caught up to the ambulance within a few flash-steps, trying to keep her reiatsu down to a reasonable degree so as to not attract attention. She made one last step inside, sliding through the walls of the vehicle and landing carefully on her toes.

The two emergency personnel were trying to bring an unconscious little girl back to a stable condition, attaching an oxygen mask to her face and trying to close the wound on her side. Her shirt was open, revealing that there was what looked like a gunshot on her left side, and Sakura could not have felt worse.

The little girl's soul had not appeared, so she had not yet passed away. Sakura activated a healing Kido and bent down next to her body, trying to keep her attention focused on the hands over her wound. The EMTs continued to pass through her body, trying to assert the situation and shouting commands to each other, as the vehicle continued to speed down the streets.

Sakura whispered to herself to keep herself calm, trying to staunch the blood by accessing the spiritual half of the girl's energy. Her green, concentrated reiryoku spread into the girl's inner soul sleep and booster, trying to jumpstart the girl's spiritual half so that it could fight on to keep the physical half alive. It was a difficult process because humans were usually so physically-oriented these days that their spiritual selves are so miniscule that she was not sure that this would actually work.

The girl's form began to flicker with white light, and her soul entered the van, the chain elongating until she was lying in the corner, still unconscious. Sakura frowned, continuing her spell to keep the girl alive. She began to chant the basic incantation for this spell.

**_"Touch of death to instill hope, powerful tide bringing rebirth. The ending will recede into a new beginning."_**

The green energy became far more vibrant than before, and she continued to shout the spell at the top of her lungs, chanting again and again to increase its power. She watched as the chain began to shorten, disappearing into the body of the girl once more.

The girl deserved to live longer. Deserved to have more, do more, be more. This girl did not need to give up her life for the Rukongai. Sakura continued her machinations, and when the blood began to stain the white fabric of the girl's spirit, she knew that it was working. She was getting closer and closer to life again.

After several more minutes, the spirit of the girl finally joined with the body, the chain of fate disappearing until there was nothing left. Sakura sat back for a long moment, knowing that she had most likely saved the girl from certain death. When she was certain that the EMTs had arrived at the hospital, she slipped out of the van and tried very hard to ignore the pit of exhaustion in her stomach.

She leaned against the wall of the stark-white hospital near the entrance, trying very hard to calm her panting breath. Sweat was pouring down her body, and she wondered why it had been so difficult to heal the girl. She had healed much greater wounds much more swiftly, so why had it been so difficult?

Sakura must have laid against that wall for several minutes, but when something peaked on her spiritual scale right next to her, her entire body shook away the exhaustion. The Fourth Seat looked to her left, a silver-haired, well-dressed man in all white and a doctor's coat standing there, looking out into the parking lot. The doctor lit a cigarette, his pale blue eyes glinting in the sunlight.

Was this pressure coming from him? What in the world could that mean? Who was this man?

Sakura's hand inched toward the hilt of the blade at her side, but the man turned to watch her movements. He did not seem impressed or phased by the possibility that she had a sword, whomever the man was.

After a quick moment of intimidation and fluctuating spiritual pressure, the doctor turned and faced the door, almost ignoring her completely. "You saved the girl, but your services are no longer required, shinigami."

Despite Sakura's sputtering, he walked into the hospital calmly, and the Fourth Seat could not have been more confused. When she rushed into the hospital to pursue him and demand answers, he had seemingly vanished the moment he stepped into the building.

"Who the hell are you?"

* * *

Naruto was in the courtyard of the barracks, his sword in hand. He stepped through several basic formations, practicing his Zanjutsu by building on the textbook Academy teachings. He sometimes felt that he did not have a unique style, despite so many years of training and sparring. Sentaro and Captain Unohana always tried to tell him differently, but he could sense it.

Compared to other users of a wakizashi-style blade, he supposed that he might have a different style closer to that of a brawler. Squad Two and the Stealth Force were notorious for using wakizashi length zanpakutou, but their style was all about quick, surprise stabs that could end a fight before it even began. Naruto felt like he was closer to the other way around, but he often wondered if his Zanjutsu suffered because of his reliance on Kido and his Shikai.

The formulation of the Kido spell they were working on had to be built from the ground-up, on their own. The Kido Corps were obviously not going to give them any help, but not a single one of them had the slightest clue why. The officer they had talked to had shooed them out the moment they mentioned Captain Aizen's name, but why was that? Naruto may not have liked him for personal reasons, but admittedly, the captain had never wronged the Soul Society or its operations. Why would the Kido Corps mistrust him, when he had probably contributed to their studies himself?

It didn't make any sense, Naruto wondered, slashing diagonally in a move that might have cut into the shoulder of an unprepared enemy. He followed up with a quick twist and a swing to the left, decapitating the imaginary opponent before turning and stabbing into the gut of the fake hollow behind him.

He put his body on autopilot, letting his muscles work on the specifics while he ran his mind over and over again on how to solve the mystery of Aizen's spell. Both Momo and Kira had offered to just find the Captain and ask him about it, but Naruto had talked them out of it. The Squad Five leader might not appreciate his lieutenant finding something on the man's desk, something that might have been confidential in the first place.

His mind suddenly switched gears, thinking of all the assignments that he had situated recently. He figured that his subconscious was trying to remind himself of something by bringing up such a stray thought, but he ran through a checklist in his head of everything he had done that day.

The day, July 17... His mind widened when he realized that it had already been about a month since he last met with Rukia, and her assignment would be up today. It had been such a challenge to convince Captain Ukitake to ask her older brother about an extension, and they only got it because of that convincing argument that a month was not enough time to really get a grasp on an assignment like this. They had been lucky, if truth be told.

But now was the end of the second deadline, and he knew that Byakuya would be far more attentive this time. Naruto wondered if the co-Third Seats had noticed that it was the deadline, and he didn't think he would be that lucky.

Rukia was a strange case, and his mind wandered to the boy he had seen during that visit. A human with shinigami powers, powers that were supposed to have been temporarily given to him so that they could defeat a hollow and protect the boy's family. But he had stolen much more than she had intended to give him, somehow, and Naruto really wished that he understood the specifics of why that was possible. Shikamaru or Samui might could figure it out, though, but he didn't want to let anyone else in on this.

**Secrets, secrets, secrets. You sure are hiding a lot from your colleagues and comrades, aren't you, boy? **The Kyuubi said slyly, and Naruto could picture its angry smirk from inside his mind.

_"The institution itself hasn't exactly treated me in the best possible way,"_ Naruto countered silently, remembering the Kido Cannon's energy flashing toward him from the sky. _"Not all the time anyway. I don't like the callous loss of life, and I could have been on the receiving end. Greater good or not, it's disheartening. They don't need to know about you, because I don't feel the need to be sacrificed for that same end, to protect everyone around."_

Naruto would hold the Kyuubi until such a time when he couldn't, which would hopefully be never. He was not as worried about releasing it because he did not think it could even survive on the spiritual plane, but Naruto did not feel like dying again to test that extraction theory. If for some reason the physical Yang Kyuubi could exist in an opposing environment, then it could cause quite a bit of damage with the possibility that it might be too difficult to defeat normally.

**Whatever you say, kid, but you'll realize one day that you are far more angry than you care to admit. **

He sighed lightly, bringing his sword to his side and wiping the sweat off his brow with his free hand, his hair dripping wet. He had been training for probably three hours, and it was time to head in and brainstorm what to do for Rukia, if there was something that he needed to do at all.

Best case scenario, she would return to the Seireitei with her full powers at the end of the day, Ichigo would be human again, and they could forget the whole incident ever happened.

* * *

Sakura's mind was still trying to wrap her head around the man she had seen, standing on the roof of a department store and watching the city move by. If she focused hard on her spiritual senses, she could feel several in the city, not all of them large. One presence so dwarfed the others that she thought she must be seeing Urahara, the exile who ran the shop on the other side of town.

She was keeping a lookout in case she was needed again, but the faster the day went by, the sooner she would have to return to the World of the Living. The pink-haired shinigami stood suddenly, however, when several pressures began to intensify, growing more and more frequent every second.

She looked toward the sky, watching as Garganta after Garganta began to open, low-level Hollows rising from the cracks and shooting toward the streets. Her breath caught in her throat when she noticed the sheer multitude, coming in again and again as the sun finished setting and the night took over the city.

They spread out evenly, starting in a central location and heading in several directions, seemingly randomly. She cursed aloud and rushed off of the roof, slicing through the air with her Shunpo and leaping between buildings.

She decided to head for the center, trying to discard her inner dread at the implications of what the hell all this meant. She had never seen this many hollows at once, and she had no Soul Phone to call in help. Sakura could not use a Kido to send for reinforcements either because she didn't have the right materials to call all the way into the Soul Society.

"Damn it," she muttered, controlling her reiatsu and slamming a foot into the back of a tentacled hollow pursuing her. It was sent rocketing backward before exploding against the wall of a building, breaking two windows and shocking the people inside.

Sakura twisted through the air as her radar picked up on several signals heading for her, a half-dozen hollows of various sizes heading for her. She raised a palm and fired several Shakkaho, taking two out in fiery explosions before they reached her.

A flurry of limbs and well-placed reiatsu defense blocked several strikes, a knee to the mask destroying a hollow that looked suspiciously like an anteater. She used her forearms to parry against claws and teeth, using her reiatsu as well as she could to make them defensive.

But a claw cut into her shoulder and she immediately flashed backward several yards, readying herself as the wound began to sting like acid. She ignored it and blasted another with a Shakkaho, before grabbing the mask-like horn of a rhino-shaped hollow, spinning, and then sending it flying painfully into one of the last few around her.

Sakura shot toward the struggling beasts and readied a fist at her side. "Ikkotsu!" she shouted, slamming a fist into the belly of the rhino-like hollow and cracking the concrete wall of the office building. The body broke apart like it was glass, the hollows behind it crushed by the force of the impact.

She leaped high to avoid the scorpion-like sting of a hollow's tail and then flipped, landing vertically on the mask of the creature with as much reiatsu condensed into her feet as she could muster. Sakura pierced completely through like some kind of sharp missile, the hollow evaporating on impact.

When she realized there were no more near her, she shot toward the center of the commotion, using healing Kido on the painful wound growing steadily on her shoulder. It was making her progress slow and she nearly stopped several times to make sure it was okay. Diagnosing the problem was difficult if the problem was on the healer itself, and she had to use several bits of her energy diverting to her natural regenerative capabilities to combat that hollow's acid-like poison.

If she could see the wound herself, it would probably look very bad. It definitely felt very bad, the pain spreading as the poison was slowly inching throughout her body. She cursed under her breath; if she did not recover quickly, she would not make it okay.

She stopped clumsily, landing in an alleyway but her leap's momentum was off. She practically slammed against the wall with her back, the pain continuing to spread and making her wince uncomfortably.

Sakura slid her uniform down around her shoulder, where there was deep gash spewing blood slowly. The blood vessels around it looked discolored, as though the poison was making them swell.

She cursed her stupidity, wishing that she had not let herself get hit in the first place. The Squad Four member tried to see the reflection in the steel of her zanpakutou, using it as a mirror to find the wound and see just how bad it was and how to repair it.

Healing yourself was dangerous; the more energy you drew away from your natural reserves to facilitate healing, the less energy that your body could use to sustain itself. She had to try very hard to be as careful as possible, so she didn't bottom out all of her energy.

Another hollow roared loudly in the distance, and she grimaced, wishing that the wound would heal already so she could help. Her sword sat at her side, glinting in the pale green light of the healing Kido.

It was getting better; she was systematically rejecting the poison and removing the hollow reiatsu left behind. The influence of foreign reiatsu invading the body could have detrimental effects on her health later on, and she had to remove it so that she could repair the rest and remove the toxins.

Sakura wished that she had a one-quick antidote, but hollows were far too individual to make an antidote for any kind of poison. They were all too different.

The black and red reiatsu began to pour out of the wound, relieving some of her stress. More hollow signatures spread around her, but they did not seem to notice her or follow after her. She had no time to ask why, several minutes passing where the only thing on her mind was the incantation rolling off of her lips quietly.

This was why nobles weren't anxious to get the healing squad involved with the World of the Living. She needed another person to truly heal this without damaging other body systems, but despite all her training from Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Isane, she might still succumb to the poison by using her own energy to supply it.

If she could isolate the poisoned area from the rest of her cells, she could use Dokushibireru's shikai ability to numb the area and stop the spread. Sakura had to shudder at the idea of using it on herself; it was more dangerous than humans and their radiation therapy. Her ability to slow the movement of spiritons only had so many healing applications, and with her already exhausted state, she wasn't sure she could restart those spiritons and revert them to normal levels after the poison was removed. On other people, it could work because it would be more controlled.

She slammed her head against the brick behind her, the spell flickering out. She had been here for probably twenty minutes trying to heal herself, and she nearly had all the hollow reiatsu removed from her shoulder. The cut was already scarring lightly under her tender care, and she had to admit that it would have looked badass if the poison was not about the kill her.

A hollow suddenly careened toward her from the roof of the building, looking like a giant floating purple skull with tendrils swinging out of the back of its skull. She immediately cut off the spell, rolling to the right and dodging the sharp talons that bored into the concrete.

Sakura held up her sword, blocking the counterattack swipe of the talon_. I wish I could use both arms. _

She twisted quickly, roundhouse kicking the hollow into the side of a metal dumpster before flipping backwards speedily, careful not to use her left arm. The pain was distracting, and she was very afraid that she would hit rock bottom in only a few moments.

The creature stood up, screeching loudly before its bony mask twisted into a grin. **"You're weak, shinigami! Pathetic!" **

Sakura backed up, holding a glowing Kido over her shoulder, the only thing keeping her stable at this point. She had to hope that she had slowed its spread.

**"Looks like I may actually get a nice meal today! A high-ranking officer, huh?" **The monster flashed its spiritual pressure, pulsing it through the area and she nearly visibly collapsed. She knew that without her wound, she would have more than enough to defeat the hollow. But it was too dangerous to even hold a defense, her reiryoku levels plummeting.

She made a move for the sword at her belt, before realizing that her blade was yards away underneath her opponent, lying against the wall where she had been using it as a mirror.

**"Nah-ah,"** the creature said. **"No zanpakutou for you!"** Immediately, the hollow shot toward her like speeding bullet. Sakura weakly held out a hand, gathering her spiritual pressure into her palm. "Come and get it."

The masked opponent slammed against her hand, her arm boosted enough not to be overtaken by the creature's onslaught. It was like a truck hitting a brick wall, and nearly every bit of concentration she had, faltered as the cracks spread on the monster's mask. It tried to back up painfully, angrily as she had somehow stopped its attack with only one arm.

**"How the hell did you do that, you witch!?"**

She flipped out her other arm, wincing as the pain hit her, and called on a Kido.

**"Bakudo Number Nine: Horin!" **From her extended fingers, a weak orange and yellow tendril shot out, whipping underneath the creature.

**"You missed, you pathetic weakli-!"**

The hollow was cut short when her zanpakutou embedded itself into the back of the monster, wrapped with the Kido and controlled carefully by Sakura. It screamed out with rage as it disintegrated, her sword dropping to the pavement.

She had enough time to take a deep breath before collapsing totally, her mind fading into unconsciousness.

* * *

Naruto stared at the message he had scrawled, wondering if it would be enough information to give out for her to understand. It would hopefully explain what he knew of the situation, but the situation was definitely not good.

News broke very fast when it was revealed that a Menos Grande had appeared in Karakura Town, and had been retreated after a short time. Mysterious fluctuations in the area had been monitored, and Rukia had been forced to send a small report explaining that she was dealing with the aftermath.

It would buy her some time, but definitely not enough for another official extension. Naruto cursed under his breath at the situation, wondering just how all of this had happened.

A Menos Grande? The blonde shuddered at the thought of such a powerful hollow, although another part of him wondered how he would fare against one. They were fearsome creatures, powerful enough that most lieutenants could not handle one on their own. And that was only the Gillian-Class.

His mind was reeling at the implications of who could have defended Karakura Town from that kind of power. Most of the Squad was amazed at Rukia's accomplishment, surprised that she had it in her. Others assumed that the exile Urahara was involved, and that might have been true; he had once been a captain himself.

But Naruto was the only one who was truly frightened by the possibility; had the boy Ichigo fought off a Gillian on his own? Was it even possible for the human with borrowed power to be strong enough? Could he become a Ginjo-level threat?

No matter what, Naruto could not share what he knew. News would probably break fast enough on its own, but this was too much. Rukia was counting on him to understand the best possible method, and he looked at the message on his desk and scowled before tossing it.

"Sentaro, watch things here. I've got to run and take care of something. Be back soon." The Uzumaki shot through the door before the Third Seat could even comment from behind the man's desk.

Naruto had to figure this out, and he knew the best person to ask. Using Shunpo, he ran along the rooftops, hoping to get there as soon as possible. It was getting so close to dark that he knew he was running out of time.

He stopped in front of the gate, hurrying inside and requesting an audience with the nearest guard. "I need to speak with Third Seat Nara in private, please."

Within minutes, he found the man lying face-up on a couch inside the common area. Of course, Shikamaru was pretending to be asleep, and the others in the room were flooding in and out, going to perform their duties while the brunette just sat there. A few people greeted the lieutenant, but Naruto shooed them off. He had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Shikamaru, get up."

"..."

"Get up. Now."

"..."

"Shikamaru, if you don't get up right now, I'll tell Lieutenant Ise that you once got so drunk, you fell asleep in your own vomit and probably laid in it for a full twelve hours."

"Damn you to hell, Uzumaki." The lazy shinigami slowly raised up, feigning fighting sleep, and Naruto looked at him expectantly.

"Come on, we need to go talk somewhere. It's important."

It took several seconds for him to finally rise up, and Naruto dragged him outside to a secluded area of the grounds. When they were sure no one was watching, Naruto took a deep breath.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to phrase this so that it doesn't sound really weird and out to the blue, but when you and Nanao were looking over records and files about Kugo Ginjo after he was killed, did you learn anything about the way he was given abilities?"

Shikamaru looked at him with almost no expression. "Uh, not really. It was unclear how many he took, but apparently, he stole the abilities of several shinigami and became what Ukitake branded as a substitute shinigami, a human with shinigami powers."

"Do you have any idea how powerful he really was? Like, if you were to class him?"

"You'd be the better judge of that than I would, Naruto. You fought him," deadpanned Shikamaru. "Why do you need to know all of a sudden?"

"Is it possible that he could have defeated a Menos?"

The brunette shook his head slightly, the confusion still etched on his face as to why all of this was being asked in the first place. "No, I don't think so. What does this have to do with the Menos that attacked Karakura Town?"

Naruto debated telling him the truth, but ultimately, he could not do it. It would have made the entire decision much easier if he had though. "I... uh, can't tell you. Confidential Squad business." That wasn't necessarily untrue; until it was necessary, Squad Thirteen would not need to declassify the report about what happened. "But one more thing. Have there ever been any other recorded attempts at giving humans shinigami powers?

"Yes, of course. It's expressly forbidden for more than just Kugo Ginjo. Usually it is such a fleeting experience for the human that it doesn't lead to other ramifications for the human world. But the shinigami is still executed for the crime, regardless of how it happened."

"Even if it was the only option and was necessary to protect someone's family?"

"Naruto... what's going on?"

The blonde shook his head, trying to wrap his head around the ramifications. He knew that execution was final, and that the order would stand the moment that Central 46 found out. But he was hoping that there might be some form of leniency, especially with such a high-profile brother like Byakuya who could likely pull strings in Rukia's favor.

For whatever reason, this entire ordeal was because of Ichigo Kurosaki. Rukia had protected his family by giving him abilities he could not control, and when he did, he stole more than he bargained for and left her powerless and stuck. The words of the message rang out in his mind, and he had to find a way to send it to her.

"Nothing." He looked toward the gate leading out of the Squad Eight grounds. "I've got to get going; Momo is waiting on me, and I need to head back first. I'll see you later this weekend for sake, okay?"

Shikamaru merely nodded, still confused about the bizarre situation. "All right."

The blonde lieutenant headed to the barracks, arriving as quickly as he could hoping he could send the message to her Soul Phone sooner rather than later. When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was the white captain's haori of a tall, pristine noble talking with Captain Ukitake. The name Rukia came up in conversation, and Naruto's heart was racing. Byakuya Kuchiki was easily the most intimidating captain on a bad day, and today was no exception.

Naruto bowed lightly. "Captain Kuchiki, good to see you again."

Byakuya bowed back, before turning once more to his conversation with Ukitake. Naruto moved around them uneasily, not sure if he should join in their conversation that was most likely about Rukia, or head to his desk in the next room and send the message to Rukia that she needed to hurry back as soon as possible.

He eventually decided on the latter, listening to Ukitake explain that they had received an update from her after the Menos Grande, and several other hollows, appeared and that was the last she had heard.

"So it appears that she's dealing with the aftermath of that attack? Could this have something to do with the disappearance of Sakura Haruno, the Fourth Seat of Squad Four?"

Naruto's eyes widened, his throat clamming up. Sakura was missing? He turned to the captains. "Sakura has disappeared?"

Captain Byakuya nodded. "Yes. Haruno was in Karakura Town when the Menos appeared, and her reiatsu signature seems to have vanished without a trace."

**So that chick you used to love died, huh? Pity; she got to hit you quite a bit when you were younger, just enough that I could live vicariously through her. You were, and still are, a pain in the ass, kid.**

Naruto sighed lightly, ignoring Kurama's remarks. "She's okay, though, right?"

"I'm not sure if we know just yet," Captain Ukitake explained softly. "The SRDI did not seem to think it was a death, but it's unclear."

Naruto nodded to them, trying not to get emotional over one of his friends. He walked toward the office room, trying to keep his mind off of Sakura. Rukia needed his warning, and he had to send it knowing that Byakuya was in the next room. He could still hear their conversation through the wall, and when he heard that Byakuya was going to pick her up himself the next night, Naruto's eyes widened.

_Rukia, _

_You need to return to Soul Society if you've got your powers back. If not, then leave town. Head anywhere else, just get out of the city. Your brother is coming for you tomorrow, and if he finds out about Ichigo, it will not end well for you or for him. _

_Uzumaki. _

A message like this would take an hour to reach her, and that could be an hour difference in her life. He sighed, wishing that no one was in this predicament at all. He quickly sent the message, but the moment he hit send, he regretted not mentioning Sakura's apparent disappearance. Maybe she would have known where to look and could save her if Sakura was in danger, before getting out herself.

He frowned, realizing that there was nothing that could be done on his end. The Stealth Force was looking for Sakura already, and he was a lieutenant. Personal feelings aside, he would have to wait until the Stealth Force came back to look for her himself, or to send any of Squad Thirteen to find her. It was a tricky situation, but he didn't think he could sneak away from the Seireitei long enough to look for her.

He would have to let the others look for her, and that bugged him more than anything. The feeling of uselessness was unnerving.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. You might not have enjoyed Sakura, but it was time to start spreading the focus to other characters a little bit more than I have been. It can't be Naruto all the time, especially when you consider that when the invasion happens, there'll be lots of fronts to cover. If I was just to show Naruto's involvement, it would have been difficult to have more than two or three battles deviate from canon. And I don't want to show the canon battles word for word, unless someone's presence is there to cause it to change. **

**Anyway, it was fun to delve into the healing side of things. I think Bleach hasn't really shown how Squad Four truly operates or what the healing Kido does when they use it, they just show them using the same type of healing Kido with glowy palms and can't really get into how it works. It was cool to throw some anatomy and physiology in there, as well as show more differences between material and spiritual bodies. **

**Send me a review if you want! Let me know what you think, good or bad. **


	13. 13: Covering the Tracks

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach or any related characters or properties.**_

* * *

_**.:13:.  
Covering the Tracks**_

"And this is how the Kido will operate, then?" asked Lieutenant Kira, brushing his hands through his hair. "This is a lot more complicated than I thought."

The diagrams for the introductory kanji to create the source of the Kido spell were spread on the floor of Naruto's personal room in the Squad Thirteen barracks, several candles lighting the room and moonlight streaming through the window. Creating a spell from scratch was difficult work, and without the full consent of the Kido Corps, they were practically on their own.

"Yes, you're right, Izuru. It seems like it will work though, complex or not," Momo said confidently. She squeezed Naruto's hand affectionately, breaking his reverie. "You okay?"

Naruto shook himself from his own mind, grinning to reassure her. "Yeah, I'm all right. Just lost in my own thoughts."

_You need to tell her about your involvement with Rukia's upcoming execution,_ his zanpakutou offered inside his mind. _I can tell that the guilt is weighing on you; the trees are withering and there's a fog surrounding the clearing._

Naruto knew that Kusaritane was right. Who could be on his side but Momo?

When the squad received word that Rukia was in custody and scheduled for an execution, Naruto felt personally responsible. Yes, it was her fault that Ichigo had become involved; if she had had a few more seconds, maybe she could have figured out a way to attack Fishbone D without giving Ichigo her powers, and saving his family in the process. But it was not her fault that Ichigo had apparently taken more than she intended. It was, however, her fault that she had not tried to come to the Soul Society sooner with the detailed information of what happened. If she had, perhaps she might have gotten a more lenient sentence. A fighting chance is better than no chance at all, and right now, she had no chance.

"Naruto, what do you think about this array?" asked Momo, pointing to a swirling pattern of kanji that was divided into two directly in the middle. "It should work as a balancing agent in the spell's formula, right? It's modeled off of the source of the Senkaimon."

The Squad Thirteen Lieutenant could not really think about the kido formula, but he nodded nonetheless. She gave him another questioning look, wondering what was on his mind, and he just tried to give another smile to abate her.

He drifted back into his own internal dilemma, keeping enough focus on the conversation to ensure that Kira and Hinamori did not blow themselves up the first time they were to attempt the spell. He hardly knew much more than either of the other two Kido specialists, but this was a situation where the wrong phrasing on the scroll could lead to the incantation not working perfectly. And with something like the spell they were trying to create, that could be very bad news.

* * *

**So what if she's going to be executed?** _The Kyuubi stated, huffing from behind his wooden prison inside his inner mindscape_. **It's her fault. You shouldn't stress yourself, although maybe if you did, the seal would weaken faster. On second thought, keep stressing, kid. **

_The inside of his mind seemed different every time that he performed jinzen, especially given the last few weeks. He felt conflicted and responsible and not responsible and carefree and all kinds of other emotions that he did not know how to process. _

_Rukia may not have been his favorite person in the world, but he still felt like that wasn't enough reason to make him feel bad for what was going to happen. And yet, he was terrified more and more for his own life that she would explain how he was involved with helping her in the World of the Living. He had covered for her after all, and he could not trust that she would not tell the truth. _

_He was sitting on pins and needles, and with the dark fog and the autumn-like leaves spreading inside the forest-like clearing, he had a visual representation of his inner turmoil. Kusaritane looked more haggard, the red-haired spirit's skin more gaunt and obviously affected by his struggle. Her clothing looked frayed, her white cloak with the orange kanji for Uzumaki almost in burning tatters. On the other side of the clearing, the wooden prison holding the fox was a little less colorful and almost charred from its presence. _

_He almost shook from the possibility, wondering if he was going to need to have the toads repair his seal on his next training visit. Kurama did look as though he was more... lively, more ferocious, stronger and fiercer. It did not seem as though he was as restricted, and that was definitely not a good sign. Maybe the stress of his guilt really was getting to him?_

"It's not right to just pretend like Rukia's execution is not partially my fault,"_ Naruto countered, and Kusaritane placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. _

_"Do not forget that, Naruto. While I don't think you are to blame for her sentence, I do believe that if you had not agreed to cover for her or had turned her in, you may have spared herself from that sentence. And you may have spared your own life in the process."_

_He took a deep breath. He knew that his zanpakutou could not know anything that he didn't know deep down, because Kusaritane could only experience the world through his eyes and actions. Even if his sword spirit was a reflection of Kushina and Minato, it still came from him through his soul and his own power. He still liked to think, however, that his parents had their own voices inside the zanpakutou and that it was truly them speaking to him. _

**It doesn't really matter, does it? Whatever happens, happens. You can't change the past and you can't change the sentence. It still sounds like I'll be on the upside in whatever happens.**

_The blonde shook his head at him, glaring. The Kyuubi was unlike his zanpakutou in that it did not come from his own soul. It was its own identity and had its own motives and its own wishes. And it utterly annoyed him to think that Kurama wanted Naruto to be executed in order for it to escape and wreak havoc. _

"What do I do? Can I confide in anyone about this, or do I just let it go and hope that Rukia doesn't talk?"

_Neither of them had a clear answer, but he wasn't exactly expecting a clear answer from the fox anyway. _

_"Do what you think is best," explained the redheaded zanpakutou. _

**You**_** know**_** I can't even begin to care.**

* * *

Her eyes flickered open with a start. The space behind her stomach near her spine throbbed as she moved. Her mind was racing, sweat pouring from a damp cloth around her neck.

She looked around her, realizing that she was sitting in some kind of desert, lying on a blanket that was drenched in sweat. Blue sky stretched everywhere, clouds seemingly fixed in place despite the light air flow around her. Buttes of red stone jutted up from the wasteland's floor, and a small hot spring was aligned at the base of a large mesa.

There were several people around Sakura, but her attention was definitely on the sight she did not expect to see: a teenage boy exhaustedly running from a seemingly normal little girl, who was hitting the ground hard enough to crack rock and stone. It took her several moments, and she blamed her wakening confusion, to realize that the orange-haired boy's Chain of Fate was dangling from his physical body lying on the ground.

Immediately, Sakura's eyes widened, and she snapped up against the pain running through her mind. She mentally began calling forth a healing Kido, running toward the spirit form of the boy running and dodging the girl's strikes with surprising amounts of speed.

She did not know where she was or what was going on, but she was not about to let that boy die.

"Stop," a voice said behind her, clasping on her shoulder. "You can't help him."

Sakura flipped around angrily, surprised to see Kisuke Urahara, the owner of the shinigami supply shop for when they were deployed in Karakura Town or the areas around it. His infamous hat and cane were not a welcome sight; he was a little bit annoying to deal with and his prices were not the best. Or so she's heard, anyway.

"What do you mean, I can't help him?! He'll die at this rate!"

The tall dark-skinned man she did not recognize lifted a hand and she recognized the familiar glow of a basic healing Kido. "I can help him to, but that would not get us anywhere."

The orange-haired teenager was a fighter, although if she had to guess, he was completely outclassed by this little girl. He had virtually no spiritual pressure, but her reiatsu was almost deafening in sparse moments. Definitely more than she would have thought possible from a little human girl, if she even was. Sakura recognized her and the little redhead as the shop's helpers, along with the taller man. But she could not place their names.

"If you help him, lady, he'll never get his shinigami powers back." The little boy said definitively.

"Uhhh... what?"

* * *

The series of mountains were rather large, but most of it was obscured by powerful mist that even clouded her eyes. She suspected that if she were to step into the thick of it, she would not be able to see more than a few feet in front of her. It clung to the highest heights, and she knew that the fog would thin at a lower altitude. And there was something strange about the energy in the area, because it kept her from using her spiritual senses to their fullest ability. It must have been a combination of all of that that kept Soul Society mostly away from the Elemental Nations.

The mysterious lands were full of strange creatures and people and abilities, but not many were still around today. Plagued by wars and even famine, most of the former political structure she could gather from any surviving locals (using a gigai of course) had fallen apart after the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Whatever that was.

Temari had the strangest feeling that she should not be here, but given what she was there to discover, she found no other choice. Tailing Naruto to the Elemental Nations had not proven to be a good way to learn anything; she was too afraid to get close for fear that he would find out.

It was her own motivation that brought her here, really. She was just as curious about her own life that Uzumaki claimed to know, as he was. He had not known much about her or her own life, only that she had living in a place called the Hidden Sand Village and had two brothers. And Temari was not exactly going to go out and ask him for more information.

So following him here was a plus for her, because she got to learn more about the world she grew up in while she was alive. She had always been curious; it must be something that every shinigami that had once been human felt at one point in his or her lifetime. Most just never had the opportunity to satiate that curiosity.

Her visit to the Hidden Sand Village, or what was left of it, had proved to not be as emotional as she had expected. No one lived there anymore, unable to trade with neighboring lands for goods or services. Eventually the desert killed them, and she imagined that was what would have happened eventually, even if the War had not occurred. Most of the survivors fled to the Lands of Fire and Earth, and she wondered if she was expected to feel badly about that.

Temari did not truly know her brothers. She did not know her family or her friends anymore. As she was now, she did not know her old life at all. The memories that Naruto recovered must have been a one-time event because of the Shinenju, and knowing him did not force her mind to revive those old memories. They just weren't part of her anymore.

It upset her that he was lucky enough to do that, but it did not necessarily upset her that she couldn't find any Sand villagers.

Temari took a long, deep breath. She had other things to attend to. Other things to worry about. Another breath later, and she shot over the edge of the cliff face.

She shunpo'ed through the air as quickly as she could, flashing into and out of existence for any potentially spiritually-aware observers on the ground. The mountain village stretched below him, busy and filled with more people than they could support. It, however, did not look as though they were living a very good life. People in dark red and brown military uniforms and sentries guarded nearly every corner. The civilians were haggard and looked as though they could not afford proper clothing.

She saw no signs of what Naruto had described as a Sand symbol, but she assumed that the survivors of the desert environment must have been assimilated into the new villages and lost their identity within a few generations. She literally had no idea where the survivors' descendants could be, but Temari pushed that away and tried to remind herself that it wasn't what she was here for.

She had already spent time scoping the place out, so she knew exactly where to go. There were several underground vaults, connected with intricate tunnels created by their ninjutsu. The entire Hidden Stone Village had a fixation on the earth, and their abilities were focused around building large walls and barriers and creating hidden escape routes deep under the earth. One thing that surprised her was that they had metallic support structures in some of the more important tunnels, built to not collapse totally so there is always a viable escape route.

Temari did not really know why, but studying the village's fortress-like defenses fascinated her. As a member of Squad Three, she paid a certain attention to the defensive capabilities of the Seireitei as they are often those in charge of maintaining the walls. Seeing the Hidden Stone Village's defenses interested her, and she often found problems with them. Choke points and wall thickness, using the natural mountain range as defensive backing, the river that runs through the town to the north that could easily be poisoned and slowly kill everyone there. It was the military aspect of her mind, but sometimes, she surprised herself with the things she could find as weaknesses.

It definitely seemed more heavily fortified than any other city she had ever seen in the World of the Living. Most other cities did not need that type of protection anymore, but the shinobi world was not as adapted to modern day as the other areas of the world. These nations were so cut off and obscured that she suspected they may not even be visible to those satellites that the modern world seemed to have. Probably the magic of the mist in the atmosphere, whatever it really was.

She stopped abruptly in the middle of a small courtyard, a great stone statue of a small man with a large nose, who looked as though he was holding a huge circular rock up with ease. She did not know who he was, but considering the ornate design made of the earth, she assumed that it was someone important to the village.

Temari took a deep breath before intangibly letting herself fall through the ground, dropping into the hidden underground chamber. The sensation of her body passing through physical matter was always very odd, like the solid matter flowing around her like liquid.

It took a full two minutes to fall far enough to reach the chamber's floor, passing through the solid bedrock before dropping. Torches were the only lighting available, and it gave the room way too many stretching shadows.

The hidden vault was an irregular circle, lined with a steel-like material that almost looked like it could be super-dense hardened rock. Its shape flowed in odd, hard waves, and she wondered if it had been carved from volcanic lava. Intricate symbols were woven into the floor and the walls and the ceiling, and they formed a full network of seals that reminded her of a spider's web. The outer lines of kanji slowly fell into the center of the room, where something stood on top of a dais.

It was a simplistic gold ring with etched designs and a bright red jewel right in the center. She stepped forward to inspect it further, smirking to no one.

Temari had finally found what she was looking for.

* * *

Sakura's mind was completely blown by all of this information. Rukia had illegally granted shinigami powers to a human? That was definitely not something to dabble in and do lightly, and there was a reason it was against the rules. At the same time, she could understand Rukia's point of view.

So Captain Kuchiki and Lieutenant Abarai came to Karakura Town, hunted Rukia down, and left the boy to die on the streets. Sakura could not help but feel that it might have been too harsh to do that, but at the same time, it made a lot of sense in the grand scheme of things and how the Soul Society views this offense. Destroy the soul sleep and booster so that he no longer has any powers, effectively eliminating the problem.

But now Rukia was going to die because of it? The execution had already been ordered, to take place in about one month's time. It was a serious offense, but was it that serious?

Sakura sipped her tea lightly, trying not to think about the information that had just been dumped on her. She sat at the table cross-legged on the floor, across from Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi, both former captains of the Seireitei in different legs of the military.

"One thing that bugs me that I don't think you ever answered," Sakura said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence after the exposition dump. "How did I get here? Like, did one of you find me collapsed outside?"

An imperceptive Urahara grinned. "No, we didn't find you. An old acquaintance brought you here almost two whole days ago. He said that letting you die would leave him indebted to you for saving a little girl."

That confused her for a moment. Who could she be talking about? But then her mind returned to the strange man who had been seemingly human, but had been able to see her and talked to her.

"Oh, the white haired man at the hospital? What is the deal with him?"

Urahara shook his head. "A story for another day." He stood from the table, realizing that everything was a little too surprising at the moment ."All right, I need to head back down and help out with the second lesson. It should be ready now, I think. We need to all get ready."

"Me too?" she asked. "Because I'm thinking about heading back to the Soul Society, now that I've fully recovered."

Tessai shook his head, before sharing a glance with Urahara. "Well, we actually wanted to talk to you about that."

"We want to make a proposition for you, Sakura Haruno. There's someone that we want you to meet before you go back." The sly grin on his face stretched and the other shinigami could not help but feel slightly creeped out.

* * *

He awoke to the feeling of a piece of paper being pressed to his face, and he groaned audibly. He looked up groggily, wanting to turn back over when he saw his lieutenant staring over him.

"Nara, the results from the library have come back, the ones that you requested."

Shikamaru's attention was piqued only a little bit more than necessary, and he stood up from his bed in the barracks. He rubbed the back of his neck before turning back around to watch Lieutenant Ise adjust her glasses with a tight expression. "Anything interesting?"

She nodded, handing him the paperwork. "Squad members found monitoring records of energy surges that date back several decades. Recently, there's been an insurgence of spiritual activity."

Shikamaru interpreted the data in his hand in almost the blink of an eye. "So what's really interesting about this is that spiritual activity dropped off in that area for a period of almost seventy years, with almost no indication of any activity. The data accounts for shinigami activity, deaths and the appearance of hollows, but that entire period was almost insignificant."

Nanao nodded. "Yes, it appears so. Our scanners have difficulty locating spiritual pressures and spiritual matter in that area, so it could be tha-"

"No, that's not it. Our scanners work fine," Shikamaru realized, nodding lightly. "There's something that has been blocking them for this time. Is there a topographical map of the area?"

She thought for a moment, before realizing that she included one. "Flip to the second to last page."

Shikamaru did just that, putting the map face up on his dresser, wishing that he was more dressed in front of her than he was. He had removed his upper coat when he lied down, so he felt oddly vulnerable in front of her.

He quickly analyzed the map and overlapped it with the areas where they had the minor amounts of spiritual activity in his mind. "The inland areas have been mostly untouched. There's a significant spike here, in this forest area of the central island, right before it drops off into almost obscurity. The areas on the northern coasts have significantly more activity, even during the blackout period, but it is still enough of an impact that I think there's something here. Something is blocking us."

Lieutenant Ise followed his train of thought, confirming most of her own suspicions with his analysis. She was surprised, however, that something could be blocking the area from their sight. Most of Asia and even parts of Europe were in their jurisdiction, so it surprised her that there could be this hidden area. "It appears that elevation has something to do with it as well. Could it be related to the atmosphere?"

"Atmosphere?" asked Shikamaru, confused by her suggestion. "A naturally occurring compound that can block our reiatsu scanners is impossible."

"Are you suggesting that someone has blocked off the islands purposefully with an artificial gaseous compound?"

"It's a possibility," Shikamaru whispered, trailing off. "We need more data. Not enough points for a clear picture."

"We've done just about all that we can do with our records, and Central 46 won't authorize a mission there very lightly."

The man sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have to visit the creepy mad scientist, don't I?"

* * *

Naruto tried very hard to go over his game plan once again, but it was obvious that this was a definite issue. He stood outside the door, waiting for his turn to visit her. Renji was currently inside, talking with her adamantly about what happened to her.

When Naruto heard about what Renji and Captain Kuchiki had done to Ichigo, it definitely put a sour taste in his mouth. Ichigo had been helping the overall picture for weeks, defeating hollows with his borrowed powers and doing everything that Rukia could have done in that time span. He assumed, when he really broke it down, that it all came down to the fact that someone had driven away a Menos Grande. And that someone had been Ichigo, all on his own.

And that terrified even Naruto, to be honest. A mere human who had only had his powers for a few weeks managed to win a battle against a Gillian-class hollow. Sure, he may not have killed it, but he forced it away. And that was sufficiently horrifying.

But now the kid was powerless, if not dead, and he had no clue what to do about any of it. Sakura was still missing as well, as if he didn't have enough to worry about as it was.

Between the Kido they were developing, to Sakura going missing and her reiatsu signature vanishing, to his normal training and Bankai training regimens, he just was not busy enough to deal with what was happening to Rukia. And yet, here he was to talk to her, and she was about to lose her life.

He slid inside the room the moment he could, staring at her through the bars. Renji shot him an interesting look. "Here to see your subordinate, Lieutenant?"

"Here to see a friend," Naruto corrected. The tattooed shinigami frowned at the implication but did not comment, leaving the two of them alone.

Rukia couldn't look at him. "What brings you here?" Her voice sounded so dejected, so defeated and exhausted. She was obviously struggling with the entire ordeal, the evidence all around her.

"I wanted to come and see how you were doing," he explained, trying to break the ice before he had to shatter the glacier.

She took another deep breath. "You're trying to save yourself."

Naruto's face paled, chill bumps running up and down her arm. Apparently, she wielded the world's largest hammer to break the glacier herself. "N-no, I..."

"Don't lie to me, Naruto," she explained. "I know that you're worried about a thorough investigation into what happened, and that your life is on the line here. You don't have to worry though; I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

He was stunned. She seemed as though she had already given up trying to fight for her life, the execution order cutting through whatever confidence she had about the Ichigo situation. She almost sounded... suicidal. Like she had just stopped caring completely.

"I'll admit that was part of my visit, but I want you to feel better, be happier, be safe."

"What's the point? I've got a month to live, so what's the point of trying to be happy in that last bit? I'm going to sit here and contemplate the meaning of life and death and everything in between for as long as I have left."

"I just don't want this for you!" Naruto nearly shouted. "I don't want this for anyone. Can we fight the order? Is there something we can do for a formal hearing about this?"

She laughed. "Hearing? Yeah, all that would do is allow the public to come and view my humiliation. I broke a law, a law that was in place for centuries, if not longer. There's a reason it is there, and I don't want anyone or anything to get hurt because I made a mistake."

"But you shouldn't want yourself to get hurt either! If I can get the opportunity, I can try to vouch for you, try to get you some kind of extension or parole or something."

She shook her head vehemently. "My brother would not allow it. I know that I don't deserve this, and if there were a way to escape and a place to hide, I might feel differently. But it's not worth it trying to fight the system over me."

"I could hel-"

"No." He watched her in deep thought for a long time, before she finally cleared her throat. "Naruto, I promise you this. Don't worry about me and don't worry about yourself. You've done enough for me as it is, and I want to thank you very much for helping me protect him for as long as I could. I'm not planning on dragging you down with me, so stop worrying over this. I'm casually optimistic that something will change, but I know that deep down, I don't think it will happen."

* * *

Even though she knew of Ichigo and his abilities, she still was shocked to learn that there were more humans with odd abilities. Urahara had postulated that it was because of Ichigo's apparently overbearing spiritual pressure, back when he had powers of his own, that his two friends had developed supernatural abilities of their own.

Sakura had followed the talking cat named Yoruichi, never realizing that there were some animals that could speak either. Mod souls and talking animals and shinigami and hollows and, according to Naruto's memories, elemental ninjas; each layer of the supernatural she peeled back gave her a new outlook on weird.

When they finally arrived in a clearing in the woods, Sakura looked at the three teenagers apparently assembled. Chad, the impossibly tall and built Mexican Japanese student with a killer arm; Orihime, the slightly ditsy girl with a big heart, an impressive chest, and apparently the ability to create three types of shields; and one last teenager who looked familiar but she had never met him before.

"Miss Haruno, this is Uryuu Ishida, one of our classmates," Orihime introduced airily. "Uryuu, meet Sakura Haruno!"

The uptight boy dressed in a school uniform, glasses, and slightly blue-black hair had a snobby air about him, and Sakura wondered what his deal was.

"Mmm." The look on his face was not exactly a fun look, and she wondered what his problem was. He did not bow back to her after she did, and apparently this was difficult to him. What was his problem?

She still did not even know what she was doing here anymore. She should have headed back by now, but she promised to Urahara that she would not exert any spiritual energy unless it was necessary or until they had time to take the proper precautions. He basically wanted her to meet these kids first, but he didn't know why.

Yoruichi stepped forward and cleared his, interrupting Orihime begging Uryuu not to be rude. "Sakura here is the Fourth Seat of Squad Four, the medical division of the shinigami. She leads the Interdimensional Relief Squad, and she deserves your respect, Uryuu."

He rolled his eyes. "You've done nothing to deserve my respect, shinigami."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Who was he supposed to be? "Thank you for the introduction, Yoruichi. But what exactly am I doing here?"

Before Sakura could comment further, Orihime practically jumped for joy. "Oh my, you're in the medical squad! That's so cool, Sakura! One of my powers lets me heal injuries."

Sakura smiled at her enthusiasm. "Really?" She had not heard a detailed description as to what her powers were really all about, only that they involved shields of some kind.

"Yep. How do you heal things as a shinigami? That must be neat, because all I've ever seen are shinigami cutting things with those swords of yours."

Uryuu rolled his eyes. "Don't let her fool you, Orihime. Nor you, Chad." The taller teen looked down at the two of them, not bothering to comment. "They do not do much more than cut things, no matter how they try to act all high and mighty."

They did not quite know what to say to that, but when Yoruichi the cat began to speak, Sakura wished that she could have captured the exact moment his face changed into something filled with horror.

"What? You've never seen a talking cat before? Honestly, don't be such a wimp."

Orihime piped up. "You are making kind of a fuss, Uryuu."

"Sakura did not overreact this much," explained the tall Hispanic boy. The Squad Four shinigami did not expect to hear him speak at all, his voice entirely too deep for his age.

Whatever Chad said seemed to completely straighten Uryuu up, as he turned away to hide his face and adjust his glasses. Sakura noticed the small silver cross hanging from his wrist, and her eyes widened.

"Wow, you're a Quincy," she said with astonishment, almost backing up out of reflex. Seeing a Quincy was definitely not something she had expected; they were supposed to be extinct.

"And you're a shinigami, and probably a pathetic one at that, to be in the medical division."

Immediately, Sakura's anger peaked in her mind. "What did you just say, kid? Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

Before the argument could escalate, Yoruichi cleared his throat loudly enough that everyone had to turn. Orihime had a slightly odd expression on her face, and Chad definitely looked nervous at the prospect of Sakura and Uryuu standing across from one another.

"Settle down, you two, before you do something you regret," explained Yoruichi. The cat watched them both expectantly, and when Sakura's expression finally dipped down, the cat sat on its haunches.

"What are you doing here anyway?" asked Uryuu.

Orihime and Chad were not as attentive as Sakura had imagined that they would be, and it seemed like they had met the cat before Sakura met up with them. She figured they would have wanted answers too, but they must have known more than her.

It took several moments, but within moments, Uryuu and Sakura were both shocked beyond belief, but for different reasons.

"Ichigo is planning on going to the Soul Society?"

"And you want me to help train her? That's treason!"

"Yep! He's going to go there to try to rescue Rukia. We thought you'd want to know, so you could help him too," Orihime explained, carefree before Sakura's words really settled in. "Uh... treason?"

Sakura had no idea what the details of all this really were, but she definitely did not feel like this girl should be that excited about the plan.

"This is way too complicated," Sakura explained.

"I agree," added Uryuu, surprised slightly that he agreed with her. "What Ichigo does has nothing to do with me."

"But... Rukia," Orihime stuttered. "Her life is in danger!"

The Quincy was unimpressed. He made a small gesture toward Sakura. "Rukia doesn't mean anything more to me than this complete stranger, Orihime. Why would I involve myself in matters of the shinigami?"

There was a long moment of silence. This was all too much for these kids to handle, and that much was definitely true. Sakura knew they had no chance to argue against that, not even the Quincy would be enough of a threat to them. They'd slaughter him the first chance they got, just to ensure that all the Quincy were dead.

"Too bad. But I understand that you're only doing what you think is best, Uryuu," the brunette stated, standing up."It's completely confusing to me at this point, but I am going to keep on listening and try to learn all I can about these changes that are happening. It's a little scary to have new powers awakening inside of me, but I want to know what I can do with them." She turned and locked eyes with the shinigami near her. "That's what you're here for, right? You'll help me, won't you, Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl sighed. She hated feeling like she was on the spot. "I don't know yet, Orihime. I really don't. I need some time to think, to process."

"I understand," she said lightly, her expression crestfallen. "I'm sure that Yoruichi can teach me all that I need to know!"

Sakura's chest ached, not sure how she should feel about all of this. She could be risking a lot for someone that she barely knew. If she helped them, then she could be fighting against the system she had worked so hard for. She... she had to figure out what to do.

* * *

"Naruto, I think we've run into a problem with the spell," Momo began the moment she sat down with Naruto at the table of their favorite restaurant.

"Hmmm? Really?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious. He had already decided to keep his mind off of anything resembling executions, informants among the squads, and missing friends. The Kido and Momo were definitely something that he could focus on.

Momo smiled as she adjusted her collar, entering a long explanation about a certain word in the incantation not matching with the source array. "Without that word, we won't be able to link the two together and the spell won't even work."

"So that word doesn't line up with the Senkaimon source spell then?"

She shook her head. "No, it won't work together, but Izuru and I can't figure out another word to replace it."

Creating the source scroll of a Kido spell out of kanji is difficult, but it is usually not this difficult, from what he's heard from others. If they had had help from the Kido Corps, they could have found a substitute word that would definitely help, if not actually work.

"I just wish it wasn't so hard," he said, glad to be talking about something productive. The waiter came by and took their order, disappearing into the back room. They came to this restaurant very often, and it definitely gave him chill bumps to imagine it.

"Do you have any ideas as to what word we could use instead?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. Are there any other birds that we could use?"

She looked up, thinking. "I don't know. Izuru already asked about that, but I can't come up with anything else. It seems like 'owl' would work, but maybe crow as well."

He considered the sealing array, remembering the words scrawled in a pattern that would eventually link to the verbal incantation. "'Crow' might work, but I'm not sure if the shape of the kanji will fit and flow correctly."

They drifted into silence, Hinamori lightly drawing in the palm of her hand the correct form of both 'crow' and 'owl.' Naruto reached over her soup and took her hand, squeezing it.

"Stop obsessing, we'll figure it out. We don't have to rush this; this is the kind of discovery that could take months or even years to decipher, and then even longer to actually get Central 46 to implement it."

"Yeah," she said quietly, gripping him back. "You're right. I'm sorry, I'm just very driven with this. It's such an excellent idea and could change our entire fight against hollows if it works."

Naruto merely nodded, her words reminding her of Ichigo's plight and struggle against the Menos Grande. He regretted bringing it up with Shikamaru now, the more he thought about it. Shikamaru was a sharp guy, and if he was bored enough, the Squad Eight Third Seat would put two and two together. Shikamaru was the one who terrified him more than anything, a loose end who would know and might even tell Captain Kyoraku about his hand in Rukia's case.

"Central 46 sure does work really, really fast to execute someone who does something wrong, but they don't take the same initiative to actually change anything," Naruto said suddenly, wondering what her response would be.

Her eyes widened for a moment before she put her hands in her lap, solemnly watching. "I know. It's... sad. Upsetting."

He was not quite sure how to respond, which is silly because he's the one who even brought it up in the first place.

"How... how is your squad handling that? How is Captain Ukitake handling it?"

Naruto gulped. "Not well. Most of the squad members did not know her very well, only knew of her by her last name. But everyone that knew her is especially upset about it."

She frowned, knowing what he meant. "Do you think they will be okay with it?"

"I guess they have to be." _But I don't, and won't._

The guilt could practically tear him apart. She seemed to notice it, and looked at him earnestly.

"Are you sure you're all right? You've seemed really distant lately, like something is bothering you. Kiyone has complained that you aren't keeping up with your paperwork-"

"So she still gossips about me, huh?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

She laughed, a hearty giggle that made his heart melt. "Yeah, I suppose she does. Some of the members of the SWA gossip like a fish, and she's one of them. Her sister Isane complains about it all the time, but she's not much better." The two of them laughed together, and he was glad for the better mood.

"Anyway, are you sure you'll be okay? I know this must be... hard on you. If you need someone to talk to about it, I promise I'll listen. I've always liked Rukia myself, so I can understand why you would be upset."

Naruto was certain that he was visibly torn, which probably worried Momo even more than she was before. He wanted to tell her, explain to her what happened with Ichigo and how he covered for her so that she could hopefully return her powers more quickly and head back to Soul Society and pretend it never happened. He wanted to explain to her how terrifying he found it that a human with borrowed powers managed to force a Menos Grande to flee through a Garganta. He wanted to ask her what he should do about it, if he should own up to his mistakes and take whatever punishment he deserved for helping them.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I promise, if anything comes up, I'll let you know and I'll sit down and force you to listen, even when you don't want to hear it anymore." He smiled at her, hoping beyond hope that she would not press him for more.

Momo nodded curtly. "Okay. Now, let's eat and head back, I want to work some more before I go to sleep."

He gave her a sly smile. "I think I can preoccupy your time with something that would definitely not be related to work."

* * *

Sakura had to add floating, defensive fairies to the top of her list of weird things she had witnessed lately. It was stranger than a human with powers he shouldn't have, it was stranger than an armored arm being strong enough to knock down an entire wall of the warehouse, and it was definitely stranger than a talking cat directing them all how to fight.

Sakura watched as Orihime was coached by Yoruichi on accessing all three of her shields, which were apparently combinations of her six fairies. An orange healing dome that used two of her fairies; an orange defensive triangular shield that used three of her fairies; and her last fairy could surround itself a force-field and could apparently potentially cut through any material, as long as her will was strong enough.

"I'm so glad you agreed to do this, Sakura!" Orihime said excitedly. She was obviously having fun using her powers, but every time she became overly excited, the black cat would correct her with his stern voice.

"Well, I'm only doing it temporarily," she explained. "I am going to head back in five days, which is five days before you head out to the Soul Society." Sakura had already worked out the plan with Urahara to hopefully take her out of the equation for being punished. Everything else that happened would be unrelated to her as long as she remained out of the way. It was a sacrifice she was going to have to take in order to help, but she did not want to commit. In the same vein, she did not want Chad or Orihime to die just because she was being selfish and protecting them.

"That's good. Now, where do we start?" Orihime asked, her fairies buzzing about her head in their flight forms. Sakura studied her for a moment, realizing that the girl was already seemingly tired.

"We start by getting your endurance up to speed," Sakura explained almost instantly. Yoruichi gave her an appreciative look while he helped Chad control his arm on the other side of the room. "This can be something for both of you, actually."

"Sakura's right," the cat added. "We need to know, and expand, how often you can use your techniques without becoming too exhausted and then help you learn how to use them efficiency."

"Efficiency is key. We don't want you to burn out all your energy in two or three shots or punches or deflections," explained Sakura. "We need to upgrade your healing ability so that you can do it faster and use less energy in the process. And Chad, you need to work on being as fast as possible while using your arm, and keeping it up as long as possible."

For almost two hours, both Yoruichi and Sakura worked their charges to death, getting them to almost no energy left. Sakura would then work on healing them by giving them a burst of her own energy from restorative Kido, and then they would work again. It was tiring work, but by the end of the time period, they learned more about Orihime and Chad's base limits.

Yoruichi turned to Chad to focus on him, giving him exercises that could hopefully improve his overall strength and endurance. Sakura turned to Orihime to test the limits of her specific powers.

"All right, I'm going to use a low-powered Hado Kido and up the intensity, and you're going to see how long you can hold it without your shield cracking."

Orihime nodded. "Oh, I hope this works. **Baigon! Hinagiku! Lily!** **Santen Kesshun, I reject!**" Instantly, her three defensive fairies appeared and formed into the triangular shield made of what seemed to be orange glass, pointed directly in front of her outstretched hands.

Sakura raised a hand and counted down, before firing an incantationless Byakurai. The lightning bolt launched from her hands, exploding against the shield and shattering it instantly. The human jumped back reflexively as her shield fell to the ground in pieces, disappearing as quickly as it had been summoned.

"Again."

Another bolt of light blue energy collided against the shield, lasting for a few seconds before eventually breaking again.

No warning this time. Sakura fired the low powered Hado a third time, and the surprised Orihime threw up her arms in desperation, shouting the kotodama. The shinigami's spell collided against the shield, and to her surprise, it held.

"What do you think happened that time?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know," she replied from behind her still summoned shield. "Instinct? Wait, I'll ask them!"

Sakura wasn't going to let her, waiting for just a moment before firing another Byakurai from the tip of her fingers. Orihime's defensive wall fell apart, throwing the human back.

"It's not instinct, but concentration," explained Sakura. "You're doing really well, but you have to keep your reiatsu focused inside the shield. If I'm right, you should be able to match almost any attack if you are able to control your reiatsu enough to block the attack's output."

"Hmm, that's an idea!" Sakura smiled at her enthusiasm, and it was practically infectious. Orihime looked back and summoned her fairies again, waiting for the Kido to be fired. She skewered her face in the most hilarious expression, and Sakura found herself actually laughing. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Orihime, you're just unintentionally funny. One more time, and try to see if you can match it!"

The blue lightning bolt flew through the sky, and she absently upped the intensity from before, wanting to test the girl. The attack visibly sped up, colliding against the force field a blinding light. When she could focus again, it seemed that the shield had held but the force had still pushed her back.

"Amazing," she sighed, surprised she was catching on so fast. "Put away your shield, we're switching to offense."

"Offense? I don't want to fight you, Sakura. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt. You're not the only one who can create a barrier." Sakura was actually not that good at barriers, and it was surprising to her how good Orihimes's defense could be. She still needed to test her sword attacks against the orange defense, in case that was some kind of fluke where swords wouldn't work on it. "Orihime, take out Zoobaki."

"Damn you, woman!" a voice suddenly said, snapping in front of her and kicking Sakura square in the nose. The shinigami recoiled, annoying and having to staunch the small nose bleed he had created. "My name is Tsubaki, dipshit. You're just as bad as the rest of them!"

Orihime groaned. "Are you okay, Sakura?"

The shinigami nodded, a slight glow of healing Kido to heal the wound very quickly. "Yeah, just get ready."

She thought the incantation in her mind, instantly creating a thin barrier made of green light, shaped like a square. It was actually the strongest barrier she knew how to make, but she did not tell Orihime that. Sakura really wanted to test the other girl's offensive powers, and as annoying as Tsubaki, apparently, was, she had yet to see him cut through anything truly impressive.

"Cut the barrier in half," Sakura ordered, stepping to the side so that she would not be in the way. "You can do it."

**"Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun, I reject!" **There was a positive burst of spiritual power from Orihime as the speeding Shun Shun Rikka turning into a ball of light, rocketing toward the shield. There was a loud crash of sound, and Tsubaki veered away from Sakura's shield just after impact. Her shield had stayed in place, much to her disappointment. Sakura's other powers had already proven to be very interesting, but her offensive powers were lacking. There was almost no visible sign that Koten Zanshun had even made a dent or a scratch in the shield.

Orihime sighed, dipping her head down with insecurity. "Well... that was... unimpressive," muttered Yoruichi from beside Sakura's vantage point.

"Try again."

Another speeding dart collided against the shield, this time visibly affecting the shield. A thin line ran all the way down it, like it had cracked exactly horizontally.

"Again!"

The attack succeeded in hitting the shield and cutting it in half, and for what it was worth, it seemed that she was happy about it. Sakura did not put up another shield, wanting to test her other powers to get her confidence back up. Chad shared a high five with her, and had to use his left arm to do it because his right was still armored up.

"Yay! I'm so glad that worked! It just took way too long!"

Sakura pulled out her sword, sliding her finger along the edge despite Orihime's protest. "This should be much easier than it was before." Sakura had already tested her healing powers several times while they were doing their endurance exercises.

**"Ayame! Shun'o! Soten Kisshun, I reject!"** Her two healing Shun Shun Rikka, Ayame and Shun'o, flew out and extended into a small shield over Sakura's left arm.

The sensation was very strange, but it had a distinctly different kind of feeling from medical Kido or natural healing. There was no scabbing process, it just vanished after about two minutes. During that wait, they watched as Chad worked diligently on increasing his strength by smashing crates, lifting them, and throwing them with both arms. He was doing a good job and was able to do much more than he ever could initially.

When the wound was healed completely, Sakura marveled at her. It was definitely a useful ability to have when they went to the Seireitei and encountered what could be enemies. Healing the injuries of the fallen would be key if three teenagers and a cat would be enough to defeat the entire Soul Society and rescue Rukia.

They weren't captain level by any stretch of the imagination. It was pretty much already decided in Sakura's mind that Ichigo and his friends had to get in and get out as quickly as possible. It would be a fool's errand if the most powerful were authorized to engage the teenagers.

She took another deep breath. "All right, I want you to practice calling your powers without your chants. It might be hard or impossible, I'm not sure. But if it works similarly to Kido, you may be able to call on them automatically."

Orihime walked over and deactivated her powers, returning to the hairpins. It amazed Sakura, the true nature of her powers. They had a noticeable similarity to Kido and to a shinigami's zanpakutou, and the Shun Shun Rikka were very similar in design to zanpakutou spirits. It was interesting to her, and vaguely scary. What if she was something more than just a human with powers unlocked by being near Ichigo's unbridled spiritual pressure?

"She shows promise," Yoruichi commented as Sakura stepped back to watch their progress. "They both do. I don't even think we've even touched the full extent of either of their powers."

"I don't either," Sakura agreed. "Her healing is an invaluable asset, and her shield is definitely a useful tool. I am not sure about her offensive capabilities, though."

Yoruichi nodded. "If it's anything like a zanpakutou, her offensive powers are going to be weaker without any killing intent."

"Then we'll have to give her some killing intent."

The cat's eyes widened at the implication. "How do you suppose we do that?"

"We'll break her until that's all she has left."

The other looked at the pink-haired shinigami in a completely new light. "You know what, I think I'm going to like your style."

* * *

_**I'm so glad that this chapter is finished. If there are any grammar mistakes that you see, just know that I plan on doing a complete grammar overhaul on the fic very soon, and this one will be included as well. **_

_**I've been having trouble figuring out how exactly I was going to go with this chapter, so hopefully it turned out okay. I don't want to rush into things, and I love both Orihime and Chad so much that I wanted to include them. I always thought it was a cop-out that Kubo only showed that initial day of them learning how to use their powers, but did not imply that they trained any more than that. I figure that is very, very stupid and that there's plenty of potential to create some tiny canon divergences if they develop faster than they did in canon. The extent of how Chad trained will be expanded upon, that's for sure, when all the shit hits the fan.**_

_**Leave me a review and tell me what you think! :D**_


	14. 14: Invasion

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto or any related characters or properties. **_

* * *

_**.:14:.  
Invasion**_

"Attention! Red Alert! Red Alert!" The alarm klaxons sounded throughout the entire Seireitei, sending signals to every member of the Soul Society through the network of Hell Butterflies. "Intruders detected in West Rukongai! This is not a drill!" Every shinigami in the area suddenly stopped what they were doing to go to their emergency stations.

Naruto ignored the rest of the message, having heard enough the first time. His entire routine crumbled, his mind running through his duties during this kind of crisis.

Sentaro and Kiyone immediately shared a look before turning to him. "What do we do, Lieutenant Uzumaki?!"

There was too much going on, too many different things to remember. It took several moments before he replied, "Send the message to the rest of the Squad to wait for the captain's orders. As soon as he gets the word, we'll march if necessary."

The two of them bowed, heading toward the other offices to help their seated officers spread the word to the whole Squad. He knew that in emergencies like this, not every one of the thirteen squads would deploy, and they may not even be needed. But it was still necessary for them to prepare for the worst, whatever that was.

Naruto took a deep, calming breath, wishing that this day was not one of the captain's sick days. Ukitake's tuberculosis was acting up, and he had been in bed for much of the morning already. Every bit of the squad was under his orders. He hated that whatever this situation was, the captain would have to wake up against his sickness.

Naruto waited out the few minutes it took for the ailing captain to arrive, having to dodge questions from every third member of the squad.

"Is it a hollow?"

"More Blanks? Are they invading the Seireitei again?"

"Why would they alert the entire city about a small group? This is an army?"

"An army of what?"

Ukitake could not have arrived sooner, stumbling through the door to the main debriefing hall of the barracks. The entire contingent of Squad Thirteen was assembled, barring those who were stationed in the World of the Living. Thanks to the more recent deployments, the Squad was actually almost a third in number from what they could have been. Naruto wondered if that would lessen their effectiveness against whatever threat that this would entail.

The white haired captain immediately commanded silence with his presence and a tiny fluctuation of his spiritual pressure. The squad aligned immediately, and from Naruto's vantage point in front of the group, he could see they were all more confident in the captain's presence.

"I wish that whoever is causing this alert could have waited until after my medicine regimen, but I suppose this will have to do," the Captain joked. "It appears that several bodies entered the Soul Society through the Dangai from West Rukongai. The Seireitei has been alerted of their presence, but there is no reason to fear. After the successful invasion of the Blanks and the Dark Ones, our defensive precautions and responses have been exaggerated to insane levels. I suppose that it will be good that we are alert and ready, if in the case that we actually need it, but there is no reason to fret. Squad Thirteen will not be needed initially, but when and if we do, orders will be given through Lieutenant Uzumaki and Third Seats Kotetsu and Kotsubaki."

After confirming his orders, the Captain left the room to head back to his quarters, but Naruto knew that Ukitake would not be able to think about anything other than the situation until it was over. Ukitake tended to obsess and worry, and Naruto worried for him.

The blonde lieutenant had enough to worry about on his own. The Squad was under his leadership, all to himself. He had had this happen before, but with the alert sent out to everyone, it seemed that the stakes were higher. He wondered if he had more to worry about with everyone at such high alert.

* * *

As soon as the alert sounded, Sakura's entire heart plummeted in her chest. She was in the middle of dressing the wounds of someone who had been injured in the World of the Living while on patrol, but her mind was elsewhere.

Ichigo and the others had arrived. There was no other alternative. It had to be them. And she was terrified for them; an overwhelming part of her wanted them to succeed, to save Rukia from her troubles, but the logical part of her knew it would be impossible. No matter how much she and Yoruichi had trained Orihime and Chad during the five days, the two of them would be a burden to Ichigo. She knew it was true, and it hurt her heart.

Both of their power sets were impressive. Chad had a few tricks up his sleeve and Orihime had some very versatile abilities. But would it be enough? If they did not stand a chance against the bankai, would their powers even help them against a shikai? That didn't even count all the other powers like Kido or Shunpo or just regular Zanjutsu.

Some small part of her was rooting for them to change the system she worked under. But her brain wouldn't let her see that as realistic, and that terrified her. She feared those five days had been a waste of time.

* * *

If there was one thing that Chad knew, it was that this place did not seem to be anything like he had expected. The sky was cloudy but pleasant, and the building resembled the castles and shacks of feudal era Japan. He supposed it made sense that they were living in the past, because shinigami were fond of swords, but he had not expected it to be ancient looking.

Where were the people? Why was it so empty? He was lost in his own thoughts while Yoruichi explained to the others that this was the Rukongai, where human souls who died were sent to live. His mind was brought back to the cockatiel, Yuichi Shibata, whom he had befriended back in the World of the Living. He wondered briefly if the boy had found his mother after passing on.

The infrastructure on most of the area was poor and only slightly well-kept. To his immediately East, he could see the large buildings that looked very rich and almost appeared as a mirage over the horizon, and he wondered if that was where they needed to go.

Apparently, Ichigo must have followed his train of thought. Yoruichi shouted back after him as Ichigo ran toward the nicer buildings, despite the cat's protests.

"Wait, you idiot! You can't run up the gate like that! You'll be killed!"

As if on cue, huge stone walls dropped from the sky, shaking the earth as they fell into place and kicking up dust that clouded the entire area. They were impossibly heavy, heavy enough to nearly unsettle the buildings closest to them as the ground rumbled beneath them. Chad covered his face with his arms, bracing himself as one more bit about the spiritual world shocked him.

There was now a very tall wall surrounding the entire city, as far as they eyes could see. Chad had no idea how far that was, but it was far enough that the wall disappeared over the horizon before even showing any curvature. It had to be several miles around, at the least. The only distinguishing feature was the huge gate that Ichigo was only yards away from, coughing from the dust that must have hit him harder than anyone else.

"Well, well," a large, thundering voice boomed overhead. "It's been a long time since anyone tried to pass through the spirit gates without a travel permit." The dust finally cleared to reveal the surprising figure of a giant of a man standing in front of the gate. The beard covered his face, his entire left arm wrapped in an armored plate; Chad was reminded of his own armored arm from the sight. He wore the standard shihakusho of the shinigami, but the left side of his chest was uncovered. Compared to Ichigo, the man looked to be almost fifty feet tall. "And I don't get many guests these days, so welcome to you, little man."

The impossibly large gate guardian, who could not have been a normal human-based soul, pulled the silver axe from his back and slammed it on the ground, kicking up another dust cloud and shooting dirt and rocks into Ichigo's face.

The orange-haired shinigami stood in front of the opponent, not sure of anything, as the giant guardian held the strangely shaped axe in one hand and seemingly laughed at Ichigo, mocking him.

"Whenever you are ready, give it all that you've got, and good luck!"

Chad had no idea what to think about this opponent, but he knew he had to help. Just like when they were in middle school, he had to help Ichigo face this man together.

"That man's a leviathan," Uryuu muttered somberly, in awe of his size and relative strength. "What kind of creature do you suppose he is? He's way too big to be a human being."

"He's known simply as Jidanbo," explained Yoruichi. Chad wondered if there was a shinigami squad for animals, if that was how this cat could know so much. He supposed that if animals had a soul, they could easily go to the Soul Society, right? "He was chosen from among the very best warriors the Soul Society has. His task is to guard the Hakuto Gate, one of four entrances that make up the spirit gate."

"He's the guard? It looks like to get through that gate, we have to choice but to defeat him," explained Uryuu.

The cat sighed. "Yes, but that will not be an easy task, I'm afraid. In the three hundred years that Jidanbo has served as guardian of this post, countless invaders have tried, but not a single one has ever broken through the Hakuto Gate. Jidanbo has become a legend of power and strength."

Chad was amazed that he may find more warriors of Jidanbo's size inside that wall, after they pushed through inside. He wondered if size was an indicator of strength, and if Jidanbo was stuck as a mere guardian, what size could the captains inside even be?

"How in the world are we supposed to even defeat someone like that?" asked Uryuu, who was undoubtedly already preparing several strategies in his mind based on Yoruichi's warnings. Chad had a few of his own prepared as well.

"That's where your intelligence and creativity come in," explained the cat. "First thing we need to do is have a meeting to decide on a strategy. Ichigo, let's start with-" The cat cried out in exasperation.

Chad signaled to Orihime and they both rushed toward Ichigo to help him, knowing that they had to handle this together. Chad was not going to settle for any less, no matter the objection. He may not have been extremely close to Rukia or to anyone else here, but he was not about to let this guard stop him from saving an innocent life.

The giant watched their approach, and the strategic part of Chad's brain wished there was some kind of cover they could launch a better attack from. But the area in front of the gate was clear and Jidanbo would be able to see from any area in front of him. The only way they could defeat him would be through a head on assault.

The giant guardian raised his axe, angrily sliding it across the ground and cutting into the stone with his impressive strength. Huge barriers of rock covered their approach, and Chad realized that they had just gotten what they wished.

"He's trying to block us from helping!" Orihime cried out, realizing his motives and defending her face from the falling stone and rock.

"You two need some work on your manners! What are you, country bumpkins or something?!" Jidanbo cried out to both Orihime and Chad. "We're civilized in this city. Here are the rules. Rule number one: always wash your hands before you sit down to eat. Rule number two: don't eat food that has fallen on the floor. Rule number three: battles in this city are always fought one on one!"

Chad's eyes widened with surprise, his hands dropping suddenly. That rule did not make any sense and would definitely not help them at all. Jidanbo had a very antiquated sense of battling and war, and it shocked him that he could be so callous. Chad was worried for Ichigo now, who had apparently been the one that Jidanbo had chosen to fight as his opponent.

"The kid with the spiky orange hair was the first to approach and challenge me, so he shall be my first opponent!" Jidanbo declared. "Then I'll come back to deal with you two! This won't take long, I promise!"

As the giant turned to deal with Ichigo, Orihime sighed loudly. Chad had already made up his mind. "Orihime, I'm going to wait for the right opportunity and then punch a big hole through this wall. As soon as its open, you aim Tsubaki at the big guy through the opening."

Orihime nodded, but the giant had other plans. "What was that? Don't tell me you two are still plotting schemes over there!"

The girl beside him was amused. "Even his ears are powerful!" Chad grunted in agreement.

"Orihime! Chad! Are you there?"

The two of them moved closer to the wall of stone blocking them. "Ichigo! Yes, we're here!" Orihime clarified. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah! I'm still alive and kicking!"

"We're coming to help you! Just wait right there!" The girl shouted, determined.

"Yeah, well here's the thing, Orihime. I actually want you and Chad to just stay put and let me handle this by myself!"

Chad tuned everyone out, and as Orihime and Uryuu argued their stance, he watched the rock wall and thought very hard for a moment about why Jidanbo would want to fight Ichigo one on one. He supposed that he might have seen Ichigo as a threat, and because he's never been breached before, Chad figured that Jidanbo wanted to eliminate the strongest opponent first so that his pride could be held.

Chad shook his head lightly, realizing and making his decision. He was going to help Ichigo win this fight, if it was last thing he ever did. For the old days where he and Ichigo were targeted for being different and had to fight bullies together.

Chad pulled on the inner speed he had found while sparring against Jinta and Ururu and even Ichigo himself those last few days, after Sakura had returned through the Senkaimon. A flash of green light emitted from his feet as he leapt through the air, pushing on the ground with his soul to help him speed up, jumping over the wall clearly. The giant's back was turned and he had obviously not heard or expected the attack to come.

Chad's arm powered up, the black and red liquid-like metal surrounding it and giving him strength. He felt the surge of pride in his skin and in his powers, and he was glad he had the ability to help others now.

Immediately, he forced as much strength as he could into his right fist, slamming into the back of Jidanbo's neck and sending him flying into the ground several yards away, dust surrounding him. Smoke billowed from the top of his arm, the steam from his attack leaving him as he fell to the ground and rolled out of the way to recover.

"What the hell, Chad!? I thought I was going to fight him!" Ichigo shouted, but there was a hint of awe on his face and in his voice.

"I'm not going to let you fight him alone," Chad commented, slowing down his breathing to calm his body. He could only keep his arm activated for about half an hour nonstop, so if they fought for a significant amount of time, he would have to be sure to use all that he had and defeat him before then.

"You deceitful punks!" Jidanbo said, standing up and rubbing the blood away from his nose. The giant had hit the ground head first, nearly crashing into the spirit gate he guarded so well. "I'll kill you all where you stand!" He brandished his axe and readied a swing, and both Chad and Ichigo prepared to dodge it.

"Wait, Jidanbo!" Yoruichi declared from the top of the rock wall. "Technically, they did not break your agreement. Chad can be your opponent instead of Ichigo!"

The guardian seemed genuinely confused as he watched Uryuu, Orihime, and Yoruichi climb over the wall. Chad wondered if this defense was even going to work, the loophole sounding like something that lawyers would use in a lawsuit.

"Fine," he said suddenly, but he didn't sound too happy about it. "I suppose that the one with the nasty punch can fight me instead. But do not interfere again!"

Without warning, the guardian swung his axe with another scream. The sound was deafening as Chad pushed off the ground and rushed to his left, avoiding the axe's onslaught. He had a few seconds before his eyes widened, a second axe appearing on his left.

Chad twisted suddenly, his right arm stuck out just enough so that he stopped the axe at the last second, pushing back against Jidanbo's monstrous strength with his own. The human inwardly cursed, wishing that this was not the worst angle he could possibly be in. His powerless left arm could not be used to stop that axe, so he had to twist his arm so that it was nearly covering half his face.

The giant pulled away, both axes ready to use and looking very formidable. Chad could hardly believe that he had actually managed to stop his second axe so easily, merely fluctuating his spiritual pressure enough to meet and exceed Jidanbo's.

Had he really become this strong, or was Jidanbo really that weak?

"I have to hand it to you, little one," the guardian began. "I did not expect to see that much strength inside your small body. But it won't be enough to stop my axes! There's no way you'll survive my second thrust!"

He immediately swung his arms together, aiming them in a cross pattern, and Chad reacted with enough time to push off the ground in a huge leap, green light trailing him as he rushed high above the ground. The axes crossed harmlessly underneath him, but Jidanbo countered quickly, flipping up his arm.

Chad spun in mid-jump, stopping the weapon with his powered forearm and the swing's force rocketed him helplessly into the air. He was doing much better than he would have thought initially, surprising himself.

He tried to control his fall, almost fifty yards away from Jidanbo and the others, who were watching with just as much amazement as Chad himself. He silently thanked Sakura as he righted himself and landed on both feet, sliding and rolling painfully until he had carved a stretch in the stone.

Jidanbo ran toward him, moving faster than the Mexican had anticipated, causing the ground to shake with each footfall. Another swing of the mighty axe, and Chad punched upward in the same motion. His fist collided with the side of the axe's blade as it fell toward him. There was a powerful snapping sound as the weapon broke in two at the handle, the metal piece flying to Chad's left and skittering to a stop against the stone.

Jidanbo cried out in anger. "What? That's impossible! My axe! You damned fool! You'll pay for that!" Another swing of his weapon, and Chad rushed forward, running into the gap between the guardian's body and the axe in his left hand. The steel collided with the ground, and in the same instant, Chad jumped up and slammed his fist in Jidanbo's chest.

The moment he hit the ground, Chad began to charge up his arm with power. The red and black armor began to shake with effort, blue energy swirling in the piece jutting out from his right shoulder, and Chad punched forward. **"Brazo Derecha del Gigante! El Directo!"**

In a stunning blast of power, the glowing blue wave of pure energy fired from his fist and collided with Jidanbo the moment he had stood up, throwing him down again and charring his body with heat and burns. Chad could feel the temperature himself. The azure bolt of power hit the spiritual gate and dissipated, and all the air within two hundred yards was covered in smoke. A crater had been drawn with the power of his punch, cutting into the earth.

Chad took a knee, his arm falling limply beside him and smoke billowing from his body. Jidanbo was down, his second axe lying on the side, barely conscious from the effort. He looked over to see that Orihime had defended them from the after effects with her orange shield, and it broke as she rushed toward them.

"Chad? How did you...?" asked Ichigo, shocked by the power he had displayed as he helped Chad stand up, walking him toward the gate. Yoruichi followed behind them, and Uryuu and Orihime were standing over Jidanbo.

"I... trained... really hard," Chad muttered, the exhaustion of what just happened hitting him in the face.

"Incredible," Yoruichi exclaimed. "Truly remarkable, Chad. I did not know you had it in you."

"Oh my god, you're so great, Chad!" Orihime shouted out, nearly wanting to run over and hug him for celebration. "If we're all this strong, this will all be so easy!"

The giant laughed suddenly, raising up from his place near the gate, despite the burn marks on his chest from Chad's attack. "Easy? You have no idea what it's like in there, kids. The enemies you will encounter inside those walls are mountains and towers above me in both skill and strength."

Chad had to wonder again if that was in size, but based on what he knew of shinigami, he assumed they were normal sized usually.

"I don't know about all you, but based on what I can feel of your spiritual pressures, you have a long road ahead of you." Jidanbo rubbed the back of his neck with his axe handle, before looking at Chad and Ichigo. "I have to ask. Why did you jump in to fight me?"

"Because I value my friends and I want to help," explained Chad immediately. "I owe it to them to fight for them if I can, and I saw the opportunity. If Ichigo or Uryuu had fought you, they would have probably defeated you faster than me. I had something to prove."

The giant laughed heartily. "Well, you've proved it for me. But we will have to see if that can continue into the Seireitei." He looked at the broken axe handle in his right hand. "Although, in all of that, you destroyed my beautiful baby." A tear legitimately ran down his cheek, surprising all of them. "Why did you have to destroy my axe?"

"I... couldn't let you keep swinging them," Chad muttered, worried that the guy was literally crying over the axe. "I'm sorry, but you got to keep one of them, right?"

Jidanbo sniffled, looking up. "True. I... guess you aren't all bad." He threw up his hand. "All right, let's open the gate for you."

Orihime clapped lightly. "Oh wow! You're going to help us, Jidanbo?"

"Yes, my sweet," the giant said smoothly, smiling with his huge teeth. Chad smirked at the thought of succeeding and gaining them passage, because he managed to fight him and win. "It has been three hundred years since I began to guard this gate, and never once has someone been able to defeat me and pass this way. I thought the day would never come, but you are the first man to defeat me. Therefore, I, Jidanbo, hereby grant you passage into the Hakuto Gate."

A moment of pride passed, and Uryuu stepped forward. "You'll grant us all passage?"

"Yes," he bellowed. "I was soundly defeated by a member of your group, and although I normally would challenge your leader, I don't think a cat would put up much of a fight."

"What!?" yelled Ichigo. "That damned cat is not our leader!"

"Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about!" agreed Uryuu.

The girl laughed and Chad grinned a lopsided grin. "You know, if we had a leader, it probably would be Yoruichi." The cat was enjoying the praise, but Ichigo and Uryuu continued to argue.

Jidanbo eventually cut them off as he prepared to open the gate. "I don't know what you are determined to pass through this gate, but I promise that those you will meet on the other side are all very strong. You will have to be ready." And with that warning repeated, he gathered up his strength and began to lift the impossibly heavy gate with his monstrous strength.

The humans watched in amazement as the opening to the Seireitei continued to widen, but something was ominously wrong within moments. Ichigo moved through the gate unknowingly, and Yoruichi only barely managed to recognize the problem fast enough.

A silver-haired figure wearing a long, billowing black shihakusho and a white haori appeared, a dagger-length zanpakutou at his side.

"Hm. Who is that?" Ichigo asked from the guardian's side.

"That... is none other than the captain of Squad Three, Gin Ichimaru!" The captain smirked from the introduction.

In the moments that passed, Chad realized several things. One: Jidanbo was terrified. Two: Gin Ichimaru was terrifying. Three: the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were terrifyingly powerful. Four: Gin Ichimaru was walking toward them.

"Ah. Not good." He walked calmly forward, and as Jidanbo began to shake from the sight of the man, something glinted in the sunlight as it shot past the guardian, cutting a deep gash into his arm and forcing Jidanbo to his knees. No one had even seen it coming, and Chad was glad for the moment that the giant had managed to stay up long enough to keep the doorway open. So much blood splattered on the ground that if someone had been standing under his forearm, they could have gotten a shower.

"Jidanbo! No!" Ichigo shouted, and everyone gasped. Orihime looked terrified and Uryuu was outraged.

Gin was holding his sword's hilt in a ready stance, preparing to attack apparently. "Unacceptable," he muttered. "Being a guardian of the gate doesn't mean you're supposed to open the gate."

* * *

The moment that Naruto heard the news that Captain Gin Ichimaru met the intruders and expelled them, he was shocked. Jidanbo had been a personal friend, so when he heard that it had been at the Hakuto Gate, it had been like a blast from the past. He remembered all those times of he, Toshiro, and Hinamori going to visit them.

No one had been deployed outside of the spirit gate to deal with the intruders, which did not really make any sense to Naruto. Surely they could send the Stealth Force and take them out in the middle of the night, couldn't they?

The entire day, Naruto had had to field questions about the intruders and their identities, and the lieutenant had no idea who they were. Ichimaru had sent a detailed report but had not reported if he heard any names or recognized any faces. Jidanbo likely knew who they were, but he had helped them briefly so no one was really trusting his word at the moment. Whoever these intruders were, they were not likely to be able to get in any other way. Squads Three, Five, Nine, and Ten had all been deployed to guard each of the four gates from the outside in case this was a more broad threat than they had intended.

That was literally all that he knew. Naruto worried for Momo, whose squad was dealing with the northern gate that was closest to their squad barracks. She was likely leading the contingency because Naruto couldn't imagine Captain Aizen going out of the office to deal with a threat on his own. Although, that captain did surprise him sometimes.

The threat of the intruders seemed to die down the next day, and he wanted to take a trip to the World of the Living and to the Elemental Nations to see how Gamakichi was doing and to explain that he may have figured out something during his training, just because he could. But with the threat going on, he decided it was best not to. Even if he could slip away from his squad duties, he would feel guilty for hours and it would just be pointless for that special type of training.

His thoughts rested on Rukia again, and she had been moved to the repentance cell now to await execution. The great white tower above the Squad One barracks was connected to Sokyoku Hill, where she would be executed with the giant zanpakutou that supposedly had all the power of one million zanpakutou. Naruto supposed that was an exaggeration, but in all his time here, he had never seen it used.

She was a capital offender, but he had helped her. He was too, and he wasn't taking credit for it. He had not slept in far too long, the guilt weighing him down. Every few minutes, the Kyuubi would bark something really rude and annoying, just for kicks, about his issues.

Who could these intruders be? He almost wanted to leave to go and find them, learn who or what they were. But Gin had obviously not been talking about their appearance or names or anything like that. How he managed to get away with that, he didn't know.

"Yeah, orange spiky hair," explained a voice in a dead whisper. Naruto's head shot up from his desk as a lower squad member spread the gossip to Kiyone. "Fought Captain Ichimaru himself, for about a minute before he was shot out of the gate."

Naruto paled.

Ichigo Kurosaki was here to save Rukia Kuchiki.

* * *

The moment that she could slip out, she did. The moonlight was shining and the events of the day were still firmly placed in her mind. She ran her hands through her hair, stepping out of the Shiba Clan grounds. She wondered if Kukkaku would have a problem with her wandering around, but she wanted to see more of the afterlife and what would await her someday.

The Shibas were hidden in a district called Hokutan, an area very near the Hakuto Gate that they had tried to pass through just earlier that day and had been refused passage by Gin Ichimaru. Orihime still remembered the sight of Ichigo trying to clash swords with a captain and getting blasted outside by the captain's shikai, just before the gate fell.

It was frightening to think that there were thirteen men and women of his caliber waiting for them inside, and if they ever had to clash with another of them, Orihime had enough right to be terrified.

Her training with Sakura and Yoruichi had taught her valuable lessons about how to use her powers and how to have right mindset about fighting and battle, but she still struggled with their philosophy that the enemy was the enemy and that they should do all in their power to kill them before the enemy killed you.

Sakura was more soft-hearted, teaching her the correct ways to evade attacks and strike when the moment was near, as well as imposing upon her ways of healing and defense that would help her ensure that her friends stayed safe. She felt like they tried to push her supportive side rather than her direct combat side, and that upset her more than anything.

She could fight if she had the opportunity! She could protect Ichigo and Chad and Uryuu and Ganju and Yoruichi. And if that took killing someone before they could kill the other, then so be it.

She took a deep breath, walking through the forest outside and heading toward the main street. It was nearing dawn, thankfully, and they were supposed to leave very soon. Ichigo had gone to bed after finally learning how to use the Reishuukaku Core effectively, creating an energy sphere that could be used to protect them while in cannon ball mode. Chad and Uryuu had sparred yesterday in hand-to-hand combat, and Uryuu had won with a little bit of skill trumping strength. Orihime had showed Uryuu then how to really use hand to hand and ended up knocking him flat on his back, which had thoroughly impressed Kukkaku and Ganju. She wondered if Tatsuki would be impressed with her karate as well?

They were almost ready, but she wanted to take a moment to walk and just see the moments just before dawn. See what things were like in the towns around here. When she saw the lights of the village ahead, she smiled at the possibilities.

The town's inhabitants were just starting to awaken, but it was still dark in the empty streets. Everything was silent and dreary, and she could hear no signs of life. Occasionally she saw an open window with the lights on, but the town was still asleep.

Orihime really wanted to know why there were so many rough houses and why the Rukongai looked... dirty. When she had imagined heaven and the afterlife before now, she imagined order and mansions and gold and huge palm trees and beaches and oceans and cotton candy and ice cream and paradise.

But this was almost the opposite of what she would expect. Why wasn't it glamorous and fantastic and everything that it should be? She remembered something that Urahara had said about the cycle of transmigration of souls, and that shinigami kept that balance. So... if souls were leaving Soul Society, were they heading to hell or back to the World of the Living? She understood that souls could die, but it seemed to be so different from what she imagined.

She guessed that it was like reincarnation. Maybe when a soul in the Soul Society dies, they go to live again as a tree or an ape or a worm or something. But why isn't the Soul Society more... affluent? Pleasant, even? From Yoruichi's explanation, this was the more wealthy area of Rukongai, so she didn't want to know what the other areas were like.

Orihime turned a corner while reflecting her thoughts and immediately heard a scream coming from a house to her left. It was a run-down house on a seemingly wealthy street, so she wondered if it was haunted or something. The post outside read "Tsubasa."

Either way, she mustered up the courage and headed right for the door rather quickly, hearing another scream and several shouts followed by later. It sounded like some kind of fight or struggle, and she was going to save whomever it was.

She burst through the house, her hands held to her hairpins in preparation. It was clear now that the sound was coming from the basement, and she kept her senses up around her hoping that no one would sneak up on her.

The human crept down the stairs, not expecting to find what she did. Downstairs, there were three grown men holding bludgeoning objects, and a girl tied up on an old ratty mattress. Immediately, Orihime's heart started beating fast, realizing that the girl was wounded and hurt and violated, and she gasped.

One of them men turned to her, not realizing that someone was standing there. Orihime prepared her powers after hearing his voice.

"Well, look who we have here! It's our lucky day!"

Orihime's world collapsed she really considered what could happen, what was happening to that girl. If she didn't do something, that girl may die. Orihime did not want that, she just wanted all the hurting to end.

Sakura's words embedded inside her mind. _"The enemy is the enemy. Your main job is support, but that requires for someone to be there for you to support. If you ever find yourself alone, never hesitate. The enemy is the enemy; separate yourself from your feelings and act. Never react."_

She felt the tingling at the back of her neck, and without warning, three of her Shun Shun Rikka appeared behind her, shimmering in their shield form and blocking the baseball bat's swing at her head. The act startled her and the brunette found herself nearly tripping down the stairs. The man continued down the stairs when her concentration faltered, her shield breaking and fading away.

_"Act. Never react."_

Every feeling of hatred for what could happen and what was happening to that other girl bubbled up inside her. **"Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun, I reject!"**

Her offensive power appeared and immediately zipped about the room in his flight mode, and she guided him with her subconscious mind. Her anger at them and their actions guided Tsubaki, and the vengeful spirit cut into them like a knife through butter.

The moment she realized that the Shun Shun Rikka had instinctually maimed or killed each of three men before they could even say anything to defend themselves, her fear bubbled back up to the surface.

"No..."

"No no no."

Her Rikka resealed themselves in her hairpins, but she was not concentrating on them. She hurried over to the girl, pulling at the rope binding her hands to her back. When she couldn't get it, she called on Tsubaki again and the orange cutting tool chopped through the bindings, but something was wrong.

The girl cried out in pain, clutching her hand. Tsubaki had cut through her finger, chopping off an entire piece. Orihime cursed herself and her lack of confidence in what was going on and what was happening.

"Sorry..." the spirit muttered, returning to her.

**"Shun'o! Ayame! Soten Kisshun, I reject!" **The two healing fairies appeared and brought out their healing field, and the little blonde girl recoiled at the sight of them.

"It's okay, you're safe, I promise! They are going to heal you, and they'll heal your finger too! I'm sorry for hurting you and I'm sorry they hurt you!"

Tears were streaming down her face and she was spitting words at the other girl, studdering as her powers tried to wrap around the entire little girl's body, hopefully to heal whatever was wrong. The blonde soul was enveloped in a dome of orange energy, and she was still terrified and horrified.

"You... you killed Daichi and the others," the girl muttered, a mix of horror and admiration in her tone. Orihime gulped and looked around the room, wishing immediately that she hadn't.

Not a single one of the other three men was alive. It had only taken a split second, and the men had not been able to defend themselves against Tsubaki's attack. She was not sure if she should be glad or guilty or still angry at them.

It was a painstakingly long twenty minutes when she finally called off her healing dome and escorted the girl from the house, telling her ton hurry home. Orihime was shell shocked, terrified of what had just happened. At what they had almost done to her. At what she had done to them.

Orihime turned around and headed back to the basement of the decrepit house. The moment the kotodama left her lips, she regretted having the ability to care. Despite the fact that she was going to heal them, she was never going to let anyone take advantage of this situation again. She had to tell Yoruichi and the others, but she wanted to keep it quiet for now.

In under a couple of hours, they would be cannonballed through the membrane around the Seireitei, and their invasion would begin. And she could only hope that she could take her feelings about this event and keep them bottled up. Orihime could not afford to let them get in the way of their mission, not for Chad or Uryuu or Yoruichi or Rukia. And not for Ichigo.

* * *

_**I apologize for the slightly "triggering" scene, but it was intended to be WAY out of place on purpose because of the nature of what happened. Daichi is a bastard, isn't he? This is a moment for Orihime that will hopefully help her along the way as she faces new threats. I hope to turn this into a very interesting and traumatic situation for her, and I hope that I captured her numbness and inability to feel anything from the initial shock. I'll turn this into something positive for her, and I promise to handle it well. **_

_**Yay for Chad as well! I thought that showing off Bringer Light earlier than this for his speed would make sense, although it might not make sense as to why he would know it. The answer to that question will be answered later, but canonically, he IS a Fullbringer! :D **_

_**Sorry this chapter was a tiny bit shorter than normal, but let me know what you think, and leave me a review!**_


End file.
